ED Nabs Two Key Aides In Sahara Money Laundering Case Linked To Property Deals

The ED said it came across "incriminating" evidence, during searches conducted recently, which suggested that the properties of Sahara Group were being disposed of one by one in a "clandestine" manner

The two arrested persons were produced before a local court in Kolkata on Saturday and the court remanded them to ED custody till July 14, the agency said.

Source : Freepik

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday said it has arrested two persons, an executive director of Sahara Group chairman's core management team and a long-time associate of the group cum property broker, as part of a money-laundering probe against the Sahara Group and its linked entities.

The individuals taken into custody have been identified as Vailaparampil Abraham and Jitendra Prasad Verma, respectively.

Abraham played a "key role" in coordinating and facilitating the sale of Sahara Group properties, many of which involved "substantial unaccounted" cash components that were allegedly siphoned off. Verma was "actively involved" in executing several of these property transactions and knowingly assisted in routing large "cash" proceeds generated from these sale transactions, thereby contributing to the concealment and dissipation of the "proceeds of crime", the central agency said in a statement.

The ED said it came across "incriminating" evidence, during searches conducted in this case recently, which suggested that the properties of Sahara Group were being disposed of one by one in a "clandestine" manner.

Abraham and Verma played a "key role" in the disposal of such properties and assisting the promoters of the Sahara Group in siphoning off the funds, it alleged.

The promoters were found to be involved in such malpractices while remaining outside India, the agency claimed.

The two arrested persons were produced before a local court in Kolkata on Saturday and the court remanded them to ED custody till July 14, the agency said.

The money-laundering case stems from more than 500 FIRs filed by various state police departments.

Three FIRs registered against Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd (HICCSL) and others by Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan police apart from more than 500 such complaints filed against Sahara Group entities and related persons have been analysed by the ED before filing a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The agency alleged that the Sahara Group was running a "Ponzi" scheme through various entities such as HICCSL, Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited (SCCSL), Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Cooperative Society (SUMCS), Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited (SMCSL), Sahara India Commercial Corporation Ltd (SICCL), Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd (SIRECL), Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd (SHICL) and other group entities.

"These funds were managed in an unregulated manner without depositor oversight and maturity proceeds were not repaid instead reinvested under coercion or misrepresentation, and books were manipulated to camouflage such non-repayments.

"Despite financial incapacity, the group continued to collect fresh deposits, part of which was siphoned off for benami assets and personal expenses. Assets of the group were also sold for partial cash payments, further denying rightful claims of depositors," the ED said.

Earlier this year, the ED attached 707 acres of land worth Rs 1,460 crore in the Aamby Valley in Maharashtra and 1,023 acres of land worth Rs 1,538 crore in Sahara Prime City Ltd. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)