Gurgaon land release case: ED attaches properties of the real estate company M3M India

By Bricksnwall | 2024-07-20

According to an ED statement, these properties take the shape of land parcels in Basharia village, Harsaru tehsil, Gurugram.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached immovable properties worth around ₹300 crore belonging to real estate developer M3M India Infrastructure Private Ltd under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

According to an ED statement, these properties are land parcels located in Basharia village, Harsaru Tehsil, Gurugram. According to the agency's statement, the investigation began on the basis of a 2019 first information report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act against the then-chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the then-director of town and country planning, and 15 real estate development companies, including RS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. Hooda and the then-director of town and country planning, however, were not arraigned as suspects in the CBI chargesheet filed in a Panchkula court in 2021.

The case involved defrauding various landowners, the general public, and the state of Haryana by issuing a notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, followed by Section 6 of the Act, for the acquisition of respective landowners' lands, which compelled landowners to sell their land to the said coloniser companies at a lower price than the prevailing rate. Furthermore, they unlawfully and dishonestly secured Letter of Intents / licences on the designated land, causing loss to the respective landowners, the general public, and the Haryana government, while wrongfully benefiting themselves, according to the ED statement.

The ED investigation revealed that RS Infrastructure Private Limited, a company beneficially owned by Basant Bansal and Roop Bansal, the promoters of the M3M group, colluded with the individuals mentioned in the FIR and unlawfully obtained approved licences for land measuring 10.35 acres for the purpose of establishing a commercial colony by classifying their case as "a case of extreme hardship" without legal justification. The promoters of RS Infrastructure failed to construct a commercial colony after receiving licences to do so, according to the ED.

According to the ED, RS Infrastructure transferred its shares and assets, including the licenced land, for ₹726 crore to Lowe Realty Private Limited, a Religare Group firm.

"This fraudulent activity of obtaining the said licences illegally has resulted in generation of proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹300 crore, which were subsequently diverted from RS Infrastructure to the promoters of RS Infrastructure into their bank accounts and to the bank accounts of their family members and subsequently utilised for operational and business expenses of M/s M3M group companies," the Enforcement Director's office said in a statement.

Source: HindustanTime