Chandigarh, Feb 18: The Enforcement Directorate announced its largest single attachment order to date on Wednesday, seizing 247 immovable assets valued at over Rs 10,000 crore. The action is part of an ongoing money laundering investigation into the Chandigarh-based PACL, also known as the Pearls Group, which is accused of operating a Rs 48,000-crore Ponzi scheme.
The provisionally attached properties are located across SAS Nagar (Mohali), Rupnagar, and Zirakpur in Punjab. Authorities stated that these assets were acquired using funds mobilized from millions of unsuspecting investors across the country. According to the federal agency, the identified properties constitute proceeds of crime and have a combined valuation of Rs 10,021.46 crore.
Officials declared that while the agency has attached higher total values in the past across multiple linked cases, this represents the highest value ever recorded in a single attachment order. The probe into the Pearls Group originated from a 2014 CBI case involving the company and its late promoter, Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, who passed away in August 2024.
The ED maintained that the group operated an illegal collective investment scheme by promising the sale and development of agricultural land. Investigators affirmed that investors were induced to make payments through various plans and were required to sign misleading documents. The agency noted that in the majority of these instances, no land was ever delivered to the buyers.
To date, the Enforcement Directorate has filed four chargesheets in this matter, which was formally registered in 2016. With this latest enforcement action, the total value of movable and immovable assets attached by the agency in the PACL case has reached Rs 17,610 crore, including several properties located outside of India.
