New Delhi [India], June 1 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate has attached 14 immovable properties worth Rs 1,595.85 crore belonging to Gian Sagar Educational and Charitable Trust in Punjab in connection with its ongoing probe into the multi-thousand-crore PACL investment fraud case.

The properties, located at Punjab's Ramnagar, were attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with its ongoing investigation into a large-scale investment fraud involving a collective investment scheme operated by PACL Ltd and related entities.

ED said the attached 14 properties have been identified as having been acquired from investor funds, constituting proceeds of crime.

As per the agency, the investigation revealed that the land and infrastructure of Gian Sagar Educational and Charitable Trust were financed using funds diverted from PACL, which were originally collected from gullible investors.

With this attachment, ED has so far attached movable and immovable properties worth approximately Rs 28,626 crore, including assets located in India and abroad.

ED initiated an investigation on the basis of the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The FIR was registered pursuant to directions of the Supreme Court of India.

Subsequently, CBI filed a charge-sheet and a supplementary chargesheet against 33 accused, including individuals and companies, for their role in running an illegal investment scheme.

As per the CBI charge-sheets, the accused entities and persons operated a massive illegal collective investment scheme, fraudulently mobilising over Rs 48,000 crore from lakhs of investors across India under the pretext of sale and development of agricultural land.

'Investors were induced to invest under cash down payment and instalment payment plans, and were made to sign misleading documents such as agreements, powers of attorney and other instruments. In most cases, land was never delivered, and approximately Rs 48,000 Crore remains unpaid to investors. The scheme involved the use of multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to conceal the fraud and generate wrongful gains,' said the ED in a statement.

ED recorded an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in 2016 and filed a Prosecution Complaint in 2018, followed by six supplementary prosecution complaints in 2022, 2025 and 2026, against various accused persons and entities involved in the offence of money-laundering.

The PMLA special court has taken cognisance of all the Prosecution Complaints filed so far. (ANI)