Gurpreet Singh :- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 126 immovable properties worth ₹546.91 crore in connection with the PACL (Pearls Agrotech Corporation Limited) money laundering case. The seized assets are primarily located in Punjab and Delhi and are believed to have been acquired using funds collected from investors.
The investigation stems from an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 19, 2014, under directions of the Supreme Court. Following the FIR, the CBI filed charge sheets against multiple accused, prompting the ED to initiate proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
According to officials, PACL and its associated entities allegedly ran an незаконal collective investment scheme, mobilising over ₹48,000 crore from lakhs of investors across the country. Investors were lured with promises of agricultural land purchase and development schemes, often being made to sign misleading documents and offered attractive payment plans. In most cases, neither possession of land was provided nor were the invested funds returned.
The ED further revealed that the accused entities used shell companies and complex financial transactions to divert and disguise the proceeds of crime, attempting to project them as legitimate assets.
In 2016, the Supreme Court had directed SEBI to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice R.M. Lodha to oversee the process. Subsequent investigations indicated continued misuse of company assets.
Officials stated that the ED had registered an ECIR in 2016 and filed its first prosecution complaint in 2018, followed by supplementary complaints in 2022, 2025, and 2026. So far, assets worth ₹22,656.91 crore have been attached in the case, with further investigation still underway and more action likely in the coming days.
