ED to attach more properties of Anubhav Mittal

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued orders to attach more properties of Anubhav Mittal -- accused of swindling Rs 3,700 crore from 7 lakh people -- under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act.

The 26-year-old was accused of duping people, promising them handsome returns by clicking on web links, in one of the biggest internet scams in recent times. He was arrested along with two of his colleagues by the UP STF from Noida on February 2.

Rajeshwar Singh, joint director, Enforcement Directorate, Lucknow, issued the notice to attach properties worth Rs 55,43,30,063.27. It was ED’s second such notice in the Mittal case. The directorate had already attached movable and immovable properties of Anubhav Mittal of Rs 599,28,15,577 on March 31 this year. The wife and father of Anubhav Mittal (accused of running a Ponzi scheme through his firm Ablaze Info Solution) were also accused in the case.

In the ongoing investigation against Mittal under the PMLA, the ED had lodged a case against him on May 2 this year on the basis of three more FIRs lodged by the STF in Noida and Ghaziabad. After registering the case, the ED, Lucknow, had taken custody remand of Mittal for three days from May 23.

The ED further identified movable and immovable assets of Mittal and issued a second attachment in this case.

Mittal had collected Rs 3,700 crore from his customers by false inducements and later siphoned it off by means of generating bogus invoices with the assistance of various persons, who are under scrutiny.

Out of the aforesaid money, M/s Ablaze Info Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Noida, claimed to have returned Rs 2,600 crore to investors in the guise of service opportunity and sales commissions. In order to portray business as genuine, the company had paid Rs 200 crore and Rs 220 crore as TDS and service tax.