Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], March 28 (ANI): The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Lucknow Zonal Office, has attached three immovable properties worth Rs 6.17 crore on Thursday, located in Ahmedabad and Kannauj.

The properties are registered under the name of M/s Kalpataru Group companies and the entities associated with the group under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

Earlier, on January 28, the ED Lucknow Zonal office had attached nine immovable properties worth approximately Rs 30.5 crore, also in the name of Kalpataru Group companies and the entities associated with the group under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED said in a press release.

According to an official statement, all the immovable properties are in the form of Residential/commercial land and are situated at Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.

ED initiated an investigation based on multiple FIRs registered in many states across India under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, related to several cases of forgery, cheating, and embezzlement of funds by the Kalpataru Group and its related entities, the statement said.

ED investigation revealed that KBCL (Kalpatru Buildtech Corporation Ltd.) and its Directors, Agents, Managers had collected huge deposits amounting to Rs 681 crore from the public in the name of investment and allotment of residential/commercial plots and later defaulted in payment of maturity amount and allotment of plots and the amount was used for creating assets in the names of the Kalpataru group of companies as well as their Directors/Agents/Managers, the press release said.

During the course of the investigation, ED had already attached 400 immovable properties worth Rs 83.96 crore. The same has been confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority as well, the statement added.

Further, as per the agency, it had filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) against Jai Kishan Singh Rana and his 29 other associates, including 20 Kalpataru group companies, under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002, on September 13, 2024, before the Special Court (PMLA), Ghaziabad. The Court has taken cognizance of the PC on October 3, 2024.

Furthermore, a search operation was conducted on December 18, 2024, at 16 residential and office premises of entities connected with the Kalpataru Group. As a result of the search action, various incriminating documents regarding investments and unaccounted cash were seized, the agency added in its statement. (ANI)