ED attaches 129.8 crore land in Ahmedabad real-estate fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached land worth ₹129.8 crore in and around Ahmedabad and Kadi as part of a money-laundering investigation into an alleged real-estate fraud targeting homebuyers and investors.

According to The Times of India, the ED Ahmedabad zonal office issued the attachment order on August 14 in a case involving Ronak Sonani, Vipul Gangani, Keshav Narayan Group and others. The investigation was initiated after five FIRs were registered with the Ahmedabad Crime Branch and police stations including Satellite, Navrangpura and Bopal.

The agency alleges that the accused marketed real-estate schemes as genuine projects and offered flats and shops at attractive pre-launch prices. Buyers and investors were also allegedly promised assured returns ranging from 54% to 100%.

The ED said the projects lacked required approvals, including non-agricultural (NA) permission and registration under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, or RERA. In the Chharodi scheme, the agency said money was collected from 250 buyers and investors. More than 44 buyers and investors allegedly paid into the Akshar Anant scheme.

The promised properties were allegedly not delivered, while the money collected was not refunded, according to the ED statement cited by The Times of India. Buyers were reportedly told that project permissions were being processed. The agency alleges that land earmarked for the projects was subsequently sold or transferred to other buyers.

The ED also described an alleged mechanism involving dummy sale deeds. According to the agency, properties were transferred to third parties without genuine payments, while fictitious payment details were recorded in registered documents to make the transactions appear legitimate.

The attached properties are located at Chharodi, Shela, Jesangpura and Agol near Kadi, according to the report. The ED said the attachment is intended to prevent further sale, transfer or concealment of the properties identified as proceeds of crime.

For prospective homebuyers, the case highlights the importance of checking a project's regulatory and title records before making payments. The ED advised buyers and investors to verify RERA registration, statutory approvals, title documents, land records and encumbrance details before purchasing or investing.

The allegations described in the report are part of an ongoing investigation; the ED's claims should not be treated as a finding of guilt against the accused.

Sources https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/real-estate-fraud-ed-attaches-rs-129-crore-land-in-ahmedabad-kadi/articleshow/133305182.cms