Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has attached fresh assets worth over ₹5,000 crore in connection with its ongoing money laundering probe into the PACL (Pearls Group) ponzi scam.
According to the agency, 126 immovable properties located in Punjab and Delhi have been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The total value of these assets is pegged at ₹5,046.91 crore.
With this latest action, the ED has so far attached assets worth ₹22,656.91 crore linked to PACL, its associated entities and individuals in India and abroad.
The investigation stems from a CBI case registered in 2014 against PACL Ltd, its promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and others, following directions from the Supreme Court. The ED initiated its probe in 2016 based on the same FIR.
The agency alleged that the accused entities duped lakhs of investors across the country by collecting over ₹60,000 crore under the pretext of selling and developing agricultural land. Investors were lured through instalment-based schemes and made to sign misleading documents such as agreements and powers of attorney.
In most cases, no land was ever allotted to investors, and nearly ₹48,000 crore remains unpaid, the ED said.
Bhangoo, the main accused in the case, died in August 2024. The agency has so far filed five prosecution complaints (chargesheets) in the matter as investigations continue.
