New Delhi [India], February 19 (ANI) The Enforcement Directorate has attached immovable properties worth Rs 82 crore in connection with a large-scale alleged real estate fraud related to the commercial project 'Ansal Hub-83' located in Sector-83, Gurugram.

The project is spread over a land area of 19 Kanal 15 Marla (approximately 2.47 acres) and consists of 147 commercial shops, 137 office spaces and two restaurant units, ED said on Thursday.

ED's Gurugram zonal office attached these properties under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

ED said its investigation was initiated on the basis of an FIR registered by Haryana Police under section 120-B, 406 and 420 of Indian Penal Code 9IPC) in June 2023 against the promoters and senior officials of Ansal Housing Limited (formerly known as Ansal Housing and Construction Ltd). The company's whole time director Kushagra Ansal and its associated entities namely Samyak Projects Private Limited and Aakansha Infrastructure Private Limited were booked on the basis of a complaint of HUB-83 Allottee Welfare Association, representing more than one thousand investors who had invested their hard-earned money in the project on the basis of 'false assurances and misleading representations,' according to the ED.

ED investigation revealed that 'the project was launched and commercial units were sold to investors even before obtaining valid statutory approvals and that although the project licence expired in December 2015, the developers continued to collect money from investors and sell units till September 2023 without renewing the licence.'

It was further revealed that several aggrieved investors had also approached the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HRERA) by filing complaints regarding delay in possession, non-completion of the project, illegal collection of money and violation of statutory obligations by the developer.

'Investors were promised timely possession and world-class facilities; however, even after nearly 15 years, no occupation certificate has been issued, and possession has not been handed over,' said the ED in a statement.

The funds collected were not used for completing the project but were instead diverted for other purposes and personal gain.

So far ED investigation reveals that an amount of more than Rs 82 crore has been collected from innocent allottees from the year 2011 to 2023.

As per the agency, the project land, along with the construction done so far, has been provisionally attached to prevent any transfer, sale or disposal of the assets, which could defeat future confiscation proceedings under the PMLA. (ANI)