The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Mumbai Zonal Office, has attached movable and immovable properties, including a villa at Aambey Valley, various residential and business premises in Mumbai, land parcels in Raigarh district, and fixed deposits, having aggregate value of ₹113.5 crore linked to builder Lalit Tekchandani and his associates under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the case of cheating prospective buyers of flats. The ED has already frozen and seized investments in shares, mutual funds, fixed deposits worth ₹43 crore in this case, an official informed on Thursday. “The ED initiated investigation on the basis of two FIRs registered by Taloja police station and Chembur police station under various sections of IPC. It has been alleged in the FIR that M/s Supreme Construction & Developer Pvt Ltd, represented by Mr. Tekchandani and others, collected huge funds from the prospective home buyers in a housing project in Taloja, Navi Mumbai,” the official said. The ED probe revealed that Supreme Construction collected over ₹400 crore from more than 1,700 homebuyers in a housing project in Taloja, Navi Mumbai. Delays in the project left these homebuyers in lurch without a flat or refund. “During the course of investigation, Lalit Tekchandani was arrested by the ED on March 18, 2024, under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002, and is presently under judicial custody. His interrogation has revealed that the funds thus receivedwere laundered by the builder for personal gains and creation of assets in various names, including family members,” the official said. The probe also revealed that Mr. Tekchandani alienated the properties of Supreme Construction and Developers despite his exit from its ownership and directorship with the assistance of other accused persons. “The accused persons were transferring the receivables of the company into the account of associate entity, thereby siphoning off funds. Further investigation is under progress,” said the official.
