ED Seizes Assets Worth Rs 124 Crore in Religare Finvest Money Laundering Probe

New Delhi, Mar 26 - The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recently taken significant action in a money laundering case involving Religare Finvest Limited (RFL) and other entities. The agency announced the attachment of assets worth over Rs 124 crore. These assets, comprising land and farmhouses in the affluent areas of Gurugram and Delhi, are associated with companies such as R S Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd., Kenwood Mercantile Pvt. Ltd., and M/s Goodfaith Builders Pvt. Ltd., among others.

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According to the ED's provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the total value of these attached properties amounts to Rs 124.57 crore. Notably, Kenwood Mercantile Pvt. Ltd. and Goodfaith Builders Pvt. Ltd are part of the M3M group, a prominent real estate firm based in Gurugram. The attachment includes 430 acres of land in Gurugram and Faridabad, identified as proceeds of crime linked through various companies to the M3M group.

The investigation has revealed that M3M India Holdings, a partnership firm with partners Roop Kumar Bansal, Basant Bansal, Abha Bansal, and Pankaj Bansal, received over Rs 500 crore as proceeds of crime. This was allegedly achieved by inflating the sale value of shares from RS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd to Lowe Realty Pvt. Ltd. (now known as Lowe Infra and Wellness Pvt. Ltd.) at an exaggerated amount of Rs 726 crore.

The ED's probe suggests that the land valuation owned by RS Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. was deliberately inflated by former shareholders of M3M India Holdings to extract substantial funds from Lowe Realty Pvt. Ltd., which had borrowed the amount from the Religare group. This case has seen the ED file three charge sheets so far and has involved freezing assets previously in 2020 and 2021 to attach proceeds of crime linked to corporate loan book fraud at Religare Finvest Limited.

Among the properties attached in this extensive investigation are assets worth Rs 54 crore and USD 1,50,00,000 belonging to RS Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. and Malvinder Mohan Singh, attached in previous years. The nature of these properties spans across land and farmhouses within India, while international assets include an insurance policy from AXA China Insurance Company Bermuda Ltd., owned by Malvinder Mohan Singh, a former promoter of the Religare group.

This latest action by the Enforcement Directorate underscores its ongoing commitment to uncovering and addressing financial frauds and illegal activities within the corporate sector, ensuring that entities involved in such malpractices are held accountable for their actions.