ED Arrests M3M Promoter Roop Kumar Bansal In PMLA Case; Allegations Of Money Laundering

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Roop Kumar Bansal, the promoter of M3M, in connection with a Prevention of Money Laundering case, as confirmed by official sources on Friday.

According to them, Roop Kumar Bansal was seized on Thursday in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The federal investigation agency performed searches on the M3M group and its directors, as well as IREO, another real estate company, on June 1.

Later, in a press release, it stated that the M3M Group's owners, controllers, and promoters-Basant Bansal, Roop Kumar Bansal, Pankaj Bansal, and other key individuals-deliberately avoided inquiries during the searches.

Following the searches, M3M directors, including Bansal, petitioned the Delhi High Court to quash the ED case and summonses issued to them, claiming they had committed no crime.

The agency claimed on Monday that during the searches of the two groups, it seized 17 high-end vehicles worth Rs 60 crore, including a Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Bentley, as well as gold worth Rs 5.75 crore.

For several years, the government has been investigating the IREO organisation on charges of diverting, syphoning, and misappropriation of monies from investors and clients. It was later discovered that "huge sums of money amounting to hundreds of crores were syphoned off through the M3M Group as well."