ED attaches fresh PACL assets worth over Rs 3,400 crore

New Delhi, Dec 18 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached fresh properties worth over Rs 3,400 crore as part of its money laundering probe against Chandigarh-based PACL, which is accused of orchestrating a Rs 48,000 crore Ponzi scheme.

The latest action has taken the total value of assets attached so far in the case to Rs 5,602 crore, the agency said.

In a statement, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it has provisionally attached 169 immovable properties in Punjab's Jalandhar, valued at Rs 3,436.56 crore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED probe stems from a CBI case against the Pearls Agrotech Corporation Limited (PACL), its late promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and some others. Bhangoo died in August last year.

The PACL is accused of perpetrating “fraudulent” collective investment schemes through which the company and its associates allegedly raised and misappropriated around Rs 48,000 crore from investors across the country.

A part of these funds was used for the acquisition of these 169 assets, the ED said.

“With the latest attachment, the total value of movable and immovable properties attached so far in the case stands at around Rs 5,602 crore, including domestic properties spread across India as well as foreign assets,” the ED said.

The ED has filed three chargesheets till now as part of its investigation. PTI MHS NES ARI