ED attaches ₹24-cr assets of realty firm

Abohar-based promoters collected crores of rupees on the pretext of investment in real estate before vanishing without a trace

JALANDHAR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties worth ₹24 crore belonging to a real estate firm that allegedly duped hundreds of investors of crores of rupees in various parts of Punjab.

The firm, Nature Heights Infra Ltd, was being run by Aboharbased Neeraj Thatai alias Neeraj Arora, his wife Doll Thatai and another director of company Amit Kukkar, sources at the ED zonal office in Jalandhar said. Neeraj and Kukkar figure as accused in 31 FIRs filed by the investors in various police stations of the state, and were declared proclaimed offenders in 2017.

In June 2019, ED had attached properties worth of ₹22.24 crore of Nature Heights, which was confirmed by the adjudicating authority in New Delhi. MG Gold Realtors Private Ltd, a sister concern of Nature Heights, was also involved in the fraud.

The attached immovable assets include ₹10-crore properties belonging to MG Gold in Abohar,

Mohali, Rajasthan and other parts of Punjab, the central agency’s officials said.

The ED had started probing the case in 2017. During the course of probe, it received 491 more complaints from investors and 497 complaints from various consumer courts of the state. Investigations revealed that Neeraj, in a pre-determined way, tried to launder investors’ money for personal benefits, ED officials said.

ED investigations so far have revealed that the firm’s promoters had duped investors to the tune of ₹50 crore on the pretext of allotting properties at different locations in Punjab. So far, firm’s properties worth of ₹46.5 crore have been attached. “Investigations are on to trace the remaining amount of proceeds of crime which may lead to attachment of more properties of Nature Heights Infra Ltd,” ED officials said. An investor said the company had circulated brochures inviting investments in colonies to be developed in Chandigarh, Talwara, Anandpur Sahib, Gobindgarh, Mohali, Zirakpur, Ferozepur and other locations in Punjab. The company allegedly collected crores of rupees from customers before shutting down all branch offices across the state and the promoters vanished in thin air.

Investors neither got possession of properties nor their money was returned, officials said. “The firm used to offer cheaper plots at prime locations. Later, it surfaced that most of the colonies awaited approvals from the departments concerned. The company neither allotted plots nor returned the money. Even, the cheques issued by the company were dishonoured,” said another investor.

The case was investigated by ED assistant director Deepak Rajpoot and assistant director (PMLA) Rohit Trehan.

NEERAJ AND KUKKAR FIGURE AS ACCUSED IN 31 FIRS FILED BY THE INVESTORS IN VARIOUS POLICE STATIONS OF THE STATE