New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested Unitech founder Ramesh Chandra, his daughter-in-law Preeti Chandra under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Preeti Chandra is the wife of jailed Unitech promoter Sanjay Chandra. The central agency has also arrested Rajesh Malik of Carnoustie Management (India) Pvt Ltd.
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According to the report of news agency ANI, the ED said that they will be produced before the court on October 5 for remand.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on September 30 attached 29 plots of 13,600 square meters with a book value of Rs 30.29 crore in connection with the probe against Unitech Group.
The land parcels are located in Sector 96-98 in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The ED had informed that these land parcels were illegally allotted by Chandra of Unitech Group to Carnoustie Management (India) Private Limited (CMPL).
Investigations by the central agency have revealed that Unitech Group had diverted Rs 347.95 crore of crime proceeds to Carnosti Group and in return, Carnoustie Group entities have purchased several immovable properties in India and abroad from these proceeds of crime.
Earlier, the ED had conducted searches at 41 locations in the premises of Shivalik Group, Trikar Group, Unitech Group and Carnoustie Group in NCR and Mumbai.
After analysis of the records seized after disclosure of various persons, the above diversion and layering of POC has been revealed.
The Chandra brothers, accused of misappropriating homebuyers’ money, have been lodged in Mumbai’s Taloja Jail after the Supreme Court directed them to transfer them from Tihar. The ED claimed that the brothers were doing business from inside Tihar Jail in connivance with the jail staff, following which the SC gave the directions.
The ED’s money laundering case is based on several FIRs filed by the Economic Offenses Wing of Delhi Police and home buyers against Unitech Group and its promoters.
The ED had earlier this year registered a criminal case against Unitech Group and its promoters under various sections of the PMLA, alleging that the owners – Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra – illegally siphoned off over Rs 2,000 crore to Cyprus. and diverted to the Cayman Islands.
The ED had said that the total proceeds of the crime detected in the case is Rs 7,638.43 crore and it has attached assets worth Rs 672.52 crore so far as part of this probe, news agency PTI reported.
(with inputs from agencies)
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