Mumbai: In connection with a money laundering case involving chartered accountant Amber Dalal and others, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable and movable assets worth Rs 36.21 crore. The attached assets include 10 immovable properties in Mumbai and Kolkata, along with movable assets such as fixed deposits, shares, mutual funds, and investments in alternative funds linked to multiple individuals, the agency said on Tuesday.
About The Case
The ED initiated its probe based on an FIR registered by the Mumbai police against Dalal, the proprietor of Ritz Consultancy Services, who allegedly lured investors into a Ponzi scheme by promising high returns on commodity trading and then absconded with their money after giving initial returns. Dalal allegedly collected over Rs 600 crore from 1,300 investors.
The investigation has revealed that several people worked as commission agents to solicit new clients for Ritz Consultancy. However, they did not conduct any due diligence about the scheme being run by Dalal and did not verify whether the funds raised from investors were actually being invested in commodity trading. These agents did not have any MOUs or any of the agreements to refer clients and yet they received a huge part of investors’ funds as commission.
The ED has also found that Vinay Mohindar, through his entities, helped Dalal in parking the funds in foreign jurisdictions under the guise of sham transactions. Funds collected by Dalal’s overseas entity were funnelled into Mohindar’s foreign-based firms to evade scrutiny.
Currently, Dalal is in judicial custody, and a prosecution complaint has been filed under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Properties amounting to nearly Rs 104.35 crore, including an immovable property in Dubai, has been attached in the case till date.
