Total attachmenthas reachedRs. 690.66 crores in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today provisionally attached properties worth Rs 18 crore belonging to jailed Unitech promoters Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra. The properties include a multiplex in Haryana's Gurugram and six other commercial properties in Gurugram and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. All of these were linked to two Benami entities indirectly controlled by the Chandra brothers.
24 bank accounts and Fixed Deposit Receipt (FDR) have also been attached.
These assets are in the name of M/s Enova Facility Management Services Private Limited and M/s FNM property Services Private Limited, the two Benami entities linked to the Chandras.
Sanjay Chandra and his older brother, Ajay Chandra, are the former owners of Unitech, which was a real estate giant for several years. The brothers were arrested in 2017 for failing to build houses for which they had collected hundreds of crores of rupees. They also face charges of money laundering and other financial crimes.
Earlier this year, the agency filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against the Group and the Chandras over allegations that they illegally diverted over Rs 2,000 crores to Cyprus and the Cayman Islands.
The central probe agency had earlier raided multiple locations in Haryana, UP, and Rajasthan in this regard. With this raid, the total attachment has reached Rs. 690.66 crores in the case. The total proceeds of crime detected by the ED is Rs 7,638.43 crores in this case.
The ED had claimed its investigation found that for "purchasing these properties, funds were transferred through Singapore-based companies like Joshu Pte Ltd, Trikar Residential Developers Pte Ltd, and Trikar Property Opportunities Pte Ltd during 2015-2020."
"The source of funds in these companies was from a Cayman Island-based entity namely Trikar Fund Limited (SPC) which is being controlled by the Chandra family through another Cayman-based entity Trikar Asset Management Ltd SPC," it said.
The ED claimed that after analysis of seized records followed by the admissions of various persons, the "Benami structure" (of companies) has been unraveled.
"It is highly likely that this Benami investment is the part of the fund diverted to Cayman Island and Cyprus," it said.
The Supreme Court had last month ordered the suspension of officials at Tihar jail for colluding with the brothers and allowing them to run their business from within prison in violation of all rules.