ED to restore assets worth over Rs 3,300 crore to ponzi scheme victims

Case pertains to Agri Gold group that allegedly ran a fraudulent collective investment scheme in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, among other States

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate Monday said it has “accomplished” the process to restore assets worth Rs 3,339 crore to the victims of an alleged ponzi scheme that was perpetrated in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and a few other States.

The case pertains to Agri Gold group of companies which is alleged to have collected deposits from around 19 lakh customers with a total of 32 lakh accounts in the name of real estate investment with a promise of “high returns” or a residential plot, the federal agency said in a statement.

---

A money laundering probe was initiated by the ED in this case in 2018 taking cognisance of “several” police FIRs registered in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Odisha and Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The ED found that the Agri Gold group ran a “fraudulent” collective investment scheme in the guise of real estate business, for which more than 130 companies were floated.

“These companies used to collect deposits as ‘advances for plots’ from depositors, without commensurate land being available with the company. By adhering to this business module, the accused lured lakhs of gullible persons and got deposits from them,” it said.

These funds were later “diverted” to various industries like power, energy, dairy, entertainment, health (ayurvedic), farm land ventures, etc., “without the knowledge” of the depositors and the companies “defaulted” in returning the deposits either in cash or in kind as agreed upon, the agency said.

It was found that “thousands of commission agents were engaged by the Agri Gold group to lure people and they managed to collect around Rs 6,380 crore from more than 32 lakh investor accounts,” the ED claimed.

The agency also attached assets worth Rs 4,141.2 crore during the course of investigation, arrested three persons and filed two chargesheets.

The ED said it filed a restitution application in December, 2024 under Section 8(8) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) before a special court in Hyderabad for release of movable and immoveable properties attached by it to the Crime Investigation Department (CID), Andhra Pradesh so that such attached properties could be restored to the victims of the Agri Gold Ponzi schemes under the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Protection of Depositors of Financial Establishments Act of 1999.

The court, on February 21, allowed the ED petition for restitution thereby paving the way for “restoration” of attached assets to the victims.

The Hyderabad office of the ED has “successfully accomplished” the process of restitution of attached properties worth Rs 3,339 crore (value of properties at the time of attachment). The present market value of these properties is expected to be more than Rs 6,000 crore, the ED said.

The attached assets for which restitution has been allowed by the court include more than 2,300 parcels of agricultural lands, residential and commercial plots and apartments as well as an amusement park in the name of ‘Haailand’ at Chinnakakani in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh.

Out of the total 2,310 attached immovable properties, 2,254 are in Andhra Pradesh, 43 in Telangana, 11 in Karnataka and two in Odisha, the ED said.