The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached the proceeds of crime (PoC) in the form of immovable properties amounting to Rs. 201,60,45,956/- vide Provisional attachment Order (PAO) -32/2022 dated 05.12.2022 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) of M/s. Sobha Limited.
This case stems from an FIR filed by the Haryana Police against M/s Sobha Ltd and others for violating the guidelines established by the DTCP (Directorate of Town & Country Planning), Haryana, and defrauding the public by selling plots intended for the “No Profit No Loss (NPNL)” category at inflated market prices in the Sobha International City, Gurugram. M/s Sobha Ltd and other M/s Sobha Limited affiliates have previously been charged with the offence by the Haryana Police.
The ED launched its investigations after acting on the FIR filed by the Haryana Police, and it was discovered that the management of M/s Sobha Limited had flouted a premeditated scheme to defeat the intent of the NPNL scheme. The plots were allotted to its own employees/entities in a premediated manner, and they were later sold to the general public as Villas at exorbitant prices. In a planned move, M/s Sobha Ltd launched 59 LLPs (Limited Liability Partnerships), designating its employees as partners. M/s Sobha Limited then transferred funds totalling Rs. 29 Crore indirectly to these 59 LLPs, enabling them to buy 59 plots for the price of Rs. 48 lakhs as specified by the scheme.
Following the sale of these plots to LLPs, these LLPs transferred these plots to Eunomia Developers LLP, which has the same designated partners and is a company directly under the control of M/s Sobha Limited. These LLPs then sold the plots to the general public, generating Rs. 201 Crore in Proceeds of Crime (POC) (approx.).
The Directorate of Enforcement has attached equivalent land valued at approximately Rs. 201 crores (book value), which includes the land bank of M/s Sobha Limited in Kerala held through one of its controlled entities, M/s Technobuild Developers Pvt. Limited, due to the fact that PoC had already been spent by M/s Sobha Ltd.
Earlier in this matter, in 2019, the ED examined 17 locations belonging to M/s Sobha Limited and its management. Ashok Solomon and Prakash Gurbaxani, who were both detained by the Enforcement Directorate, had a complaint of prosecution filed against them. The Honorable Special Court in Gurugram has already acknowledged this. This attachment brings the total value of the associated assets to 311 Crore (approx.). In this situation, the total estimated PoC is projected to be Rs. 311 crores (approx.). Additionally, the inquiry is ongoing.
