PACL case: ED facilitates restitution of 455 properties worth ₹15,582 crore to Justice Lodha Committee

The Enforcement Directorate has facilitated restitution of 455 immovable properties currently valued at about ₹15,582 crore to the Justice Lodha Committee, following a special court directive in the PACL case. The move is aimed at returning the funds invested by lakhs of victims in an alleged fraudulent scheme operated by the group.

During the current financial year, the agency has attached assets worth about ₹26,324 Crore, taking the total attachment in the case so far to ₹27,030 crore. They include properties located both in India and Australia.

The attached assets are held in the name of PACL Limited, its group/associate entities, and family members or associates of late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo (group head), including his wife Prem Kaur, daughter Barinder Kaur, son-in-law Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer, another daughter Sukhwinder Kaur, and son-in-law Gurpartap Singh.

The ED probe is based on a First Information Report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against PACL Ltd. and its promoters. The accused persons had raised over ₹68,000 crore from investors across the country through a large-scale illegal collective investment scheme. About ₹48,000 crore remained unpaid to the investors.

“The scheme was structured through cash down payments and instalment-based plans, wherein investors were induced to execute misleading documents such as agreements, special powers of attorney, and other instruments. In many cases, registration/allotment letters were issued without ownership of underlying land, resulting in large-scale fraud,” said the agency.

In February 2016, the Supreme Court had directed the Securities and Exchange Board of India to set up a committee under the chairmanship of former Chief Justice of India R.M. Lodha. The Court instructed that the land and assets of PACL be disposed of and sale proceeds used for refund to investors. Accordingly, the Justice Lodha Committee was constituted to oversee the liquidation and restitution of such assets.

The ED filed a prosecution complaint in the case in September 2018. Proceedings under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act have been initiated against Sukhwinder Kaur and Gurpartap Singh. The agency arrested Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer, while non-bailable warrants have been issued by the court against Barinder Kaur and Prem Kaur, it said.