ED raids Raheja Developers in Delhi-NCR in money laundering case

FIRs allege Raheja Developers fraudulently collected substantial sums from investors and homebuyers on the promise of delivering residential flats in various group housing projects

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized incriminating documents and digital devices during searches on the premises of real estate major Raheja Developers at 13 locations in Delhi-NCR and Mohali in connection with a money laundering case, an official said on Tuesday.

The ED searches on June 27 involved action against the company and its directors and other officials who were earlier booked by the Economic Offences Wing, Delhi, under penal provisions. The FIRs were filed by Delhi Police against the company, its MD Naveen Raheja and others, said an ED statement.

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The FIRs alleged that substantial sums were fraudulently collected from investors and homebuyers by Raheja Developers on the promise of delivering residential flats in various group housing projects, but failed to hand over the promised flats, said the statement.

The ED action against Raheja Developers comes close to another real estate firm, Supertech Limited, facing action from another federal probe agency, the CBI, over an alleged bank loan fraud. The CBI registered an FIR last month against Supertech Limited and its officials for cheating and forgery, which resulted in a loss of Rs 126 crore to IDBI Bank.

The Bank Securities and Fraud Branch of the federal agency registered the FIR on the complaint of Hari Kumar Meena, DGM, IDBI Bank, NPA Management Group, New Delhi.

In his complaint, Meena alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, using forged documents as genuine, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct by the accused directors of Supertech Limited, which has an office in Sector 96 in Noida.

The CBI registered the case, taking note of alleged conspiracy among directors of the company and with unknown public servants, whereby IDBI Bank was cheated to the tune of Rs 126.07 crore after it gave a loan of Rs 200 crore to the real estate firm.

Apart from the company, which has been named as one of the 10 accused, the CBI has also booked directors and other officials of Supertech in the case. Those named in the FIR include Ram Kishor Arora, Sangita Arora, Mohit Arora, Anil Kumar Sharma, Vikas Kansal, Pradeep Kumar Goel, Anil Kumar Jain and Parul Arora.

The bank’s complaint to the CBI said that Supertech and its officials perpetrated a fraud through acts of misappropriation; fraudulent encashment through forged instruments, manipulation of books of account or fictitious accounts and conversion of property and cheating and forgery (forged balance sheet).