In a first, ED seizes 1,280 acres of Indian firm's land in US : The Times of India

Ahmedabad



Rs 1,000Cr Worth Land Taken Over In Fraud Case.

In its biggest ever attachment abroad, the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday attached land worth about Rs 1,000 crore in the US in connection with a case of money laundering against a real estate developer.

ED's Ahmedabad zonal unit has attached 1,280 acres of land in California belonging to Zoom Developers and its promoter Vijay Choudhary . This is the first time an Indian agency has attached any property in the US.

The ED initiated action against the company under sections 5 and 60 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in a Rs 2,200 crore fraud. 

Although ED has earlier attached properties abr oad, the sheer scale of the attachment in the US is being seen as a message to those who have spirited away their illicit funds abroad with the hope of escaping the law. 

The case is considered one of the biggest bank-loan frauds in the country . Sources said the company and its promoter had set up more than 100 dummy companies in London, Switzerland and India.Huge amounts of money were diverted to a trust in Liechtenstein through fake firms. 

From there the money was transferred to dummy companies and through these companies properties were bought in the name of Zoom Developers in and outside India. The land in California was purchased in the company's name.

According to All-India Bank Employees' Union, Zoom Developers is one of the top five defaulters of public-sector banks and owes Rs 3,002 crore to 24 different banks. The company had taken loans from Punjab National Bank, UCO Bank, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, Oriental Bank of Commerce and other publicsector banks.

Its operations are operations are spread across Germany , France, Italy, the UK, the US and Canada, and range from industrial asset revival to re-engineering, setting up of plants and commissioning. The CBI has already booked a case of fraud against the company .

ED has so far attached properties worth US$ 13 million in Australia and Swtizerland in connection with its various cases, including the one involving the kingpin of kidney racket, Amit Kumar.

In fact, an ED team is currently in Singapore with an attachment order of US $ 29 million in connection with the City Limousine scam.