Unitech Group Promoters Diverted Half of ₹16K Crore Worth Homebuyers' Funds for Personal Use: ED

The Unitech Group and its promoters "diverted" nearly half of the more than ₹16,000 crore worth funds received from homebuyers and financial institutions for their personal use and into various "benami" companies, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged in its fresh chargesheet filed against them.

The third prosecution complaint (chargesheet) in the case was filed before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi on July 10 and the federal probe agency has named Unitech promoter Ramesh Chandra and linked companies like Shivalik Ventures Private Limited, Auram Asset Management Private Limited, Unitech Build Tech Limited, Unitech Golf Resorts Limited and Ranchero Services Limited as accused in the document.

With this latest chargesheet, the ED has now arraigned a total of 105 individuals and entities as accused in the case and attached assets worth ₹1,621.91 crore (comprising 1,291 properties). It began probing the group and its promoters after registering a PMLA case in June 2018.

The money-laundering probe against the Unitech Group and its promoters stems from FIRs filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Delhi Police against Ramesh Chandra, his sons Sanjay Chandra and Ajay Chandra and daughter-in-law Preeti Chandra (wife of Sanjay Chandra).

"This complaint is part of an ongoing money-laundering investigation, in which more than 29,800 honest homebuyers invested their lifelong savings and hard-earned money into lucrative housing schemes/projects launched by Unitech Limited," the ED said in a statement.

The promoters, in collusion with co-conspirators, hatched a criminal conspiracy and "cheated" the homebuyers by criminally diverting, layering and laundering the invested amount, it added.

The homebuyers were kept in the dark and no houses were delivered to them even after the scheduled timeline, the agency said.

The ED said its probe has found that of the total funds of ₹16,075.89 crore received by Unitech Limited from homebuyers and financial institutions, an amount of ₹7,794.35 crore was "diverted" by it for non-mandated purposes.

Ramesh Chandra and his family "diverted" the funds into their various "benami" firms and personal concerns, parking the money for their personal use, the ED said as it gave out the modus operandi deployed by the group promoters to cheat the homebuyers.

It accused the group of misusing venture capital funds, intended to utilise the investor's funds in genuine real-estate business, for personal use.

The promoters laundered the "diverted" funds by transferring those to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and then brought those back to India through the UAE, the Cayman Islands and Singapore by "layering" the money through multiple "benami" entities and shell companies, the agency said.

The Trikar Group (of companies) was created by the Chandra family to launder money by this method, it added.

The Chandras moved the "proceeds of crime" outside India and purchased assets in the name of family members and "benami" entities. Preeti Chandra purchased three flats in Dubai using these funds, the ED has alleged.

According to the agency, the Chandras acquired shares of companies at "exorbitantly" higher prices than their actual market value and these funds were transferred to Carnoustie Management Private Limited and the Shivalik Group.