25 November,2023 02:43 PM IST | Delhi | mid-day online correspondent
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The Enforcement Directorate recently conducted searches at the premises of real estate giant DLF in Gurugram, as part of an ongoing money laundering probe against Supertech, a real estate firm, and its promoters, stated a report in PTI. The news agency quoted its sources saying that the agency retrieved some documents during this two-day operation linked to the investigation against Supertech.
Despite an email inquiry by PTI, there was no response from DLF. However, according to company sources, the searches were related to other parties and didn't directly involve DLF. Company insiders mentioned that the ED officials sought specific documents related to transactions, which the company promptly provided, the report added.
According to the report, the ED previously arrested Supertech's promoter, R K or Ram Kishor Arora, in June, alleging that he orchestrated the diversion of significant funds from investors and homebuyers to various shell companies. The investigation stemmed from 26 FIRs registered by police departments in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. These alleged that Supertech and its group companies cheated 670 homebuyers, amounting to Rs 164 crore.
The ED claimed that substantial amounts, totalling hundreds of crores, were siphoned off by Supertech Group. It further accused the group of failing to fulfill their commitments to deliver flats to customers on time. The agency alleged that Rs 440 crore received from customers and homebuyers for land in Gurugram in 2013-14 was misused while their promised projects in Noida remained incomplete, the report added.
Reportedly, established in 1988, Supertech has delivered about 80,000 apartments mainly in Delhi-NCR. Currently undertaking around 25 projects in the National Capital Region, the company still owes possession to over 20,000 customers.
The firm faced a major setback in August 2022 when two of its 100-meter-tall towers on the Noida Expressway were demolished on a Supreme Court order due to construction violations. This led to a loss of approximately Rs 500 crore. The company's woes continued as the National Company Law Tribunal ordered insolvency proceedings over non-payment of dues amounting to Rs 432 crore, a decision challenged by Arora before the NCLAT.
The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh Police filed 26 FIRs against Supertech Limited and its group firms, which the ED notified the court about. Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was cited in these cases, coupled with charges of criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating, and other related provisions such as 467 and 471. According to the claims, some 670 property buyers were defrauded out of Rs 164 crore.
The ED also claimed that Supertech Ltd. transferred the money it had received to its group firms so they could buy real estate, sometimes at prices much less than what the money had originally cost. The agency charged that the individuals implicated had purchased houses and profited illegally from their purported illicit operations.
According to the ED, there is a prima facie case that the accused was involved in crimes that the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act's Sections 3 and 4 punish. This raises the possibility that they are involved in illicit operations that are connected to criminal proceeds.
