The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth Rs 834 crore in a money laundering case involving former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other accused including EMAAR and MGF Developments Ltd. The properties are located in 20 villages in Gurugram and Delhi. The case alleges that EMAAR-MGF acquired land at a lower price in connivance with HUDA and Director DTCP Trilok Chand Gupta, resulting in huge losses to both the public and the government.
Also read: BJP will get support of Jayant Chaudhary in Haryana, talks going on for alliance with RLD
The federal agency has provisionally attached immovable properties measuring a total of 401.65479 acres, valued at Rs 501.13 crore for M/s EMAAR India Ltd and Rs 332.69 crore for M/s MGF Developments Ltd. These properties are located in Gurugram district of Haryana and 20 villages in Delhi. The investigation is focused on allegations of money laundering related to a plotted colony in Sector 65 and 66 of Gurgaon, in which both the companies are involved.
The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under various sections of the IPC, 1860 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The FIR names then Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, then DTCP director Trilok Chand Gupta and M/s EMAAR MGF Land Limited along with 14 other coloniser companies.
Also read: Use of child in election campaign video: Election Commission sends notice to Haryana unit of BJP
The case centres on allegations of cheating landowners, the public and the State of Haryana/HUDA. The accused are accused of issuing notifications under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 and Section 6 of the Act to acquire land at prices significantly lower than the market rates prevailing prior to the notification. They are accused of fraudulently obtaining Letters of Intent (LOI) or licences for the acquired land, causing financial loss to landowners and the State and obtaining wrongful gains for themselves.
