ED To Distribute Seized Properties Worth Rs 2,215 Crore To Buyers Who've Been Defrauded

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), which probes financial crimes, is now embarking on an unprecedented initiative to restore homes and distribute funds to buyers who have been defrauded.

This turn of events is part of a broader effort to return properties and money seized from financial frauds to their rightful owners. The latest development in this remarkable shift comes from Gurugram, where the ED has taken over assets of the SRS Group Pearls, a company entangled in a major money laundering scandal.

The ED had previously attached properties belonging to SRS Group, which included flats from the City and Premium Projects in Gurugram. Currently, the agency is focusing on returning these properties to the original buyers.

In this endeavor, the ED is set to distribute flats valued at a staggering Rs 2,215 crore. The process involves reviewing the claims of thousands of buyers who were affected by the scam. Currently, the ED has completed the first round of verification and has begun registering and handing over properties worth Rs 20 crore to 78 homebuyers.

The saga began in 2020 when the ED confiscated the SRS Group’s properties amid allegations that the company had used buyers’ funds for illicit activities. Since then, numerous buyers have filed claims to recover their invested assets.

The ED is meticulously scrutinizing these claims and is committed to exempting the registration fees to facilitate the return of the properties. This initiative is part of a larger mandate under Section 8(8) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, which allows the ED to return seized assets to their victims.

This approach not only aims to deliver justice but also to deter future financial crimes by ensuring that victims are compensated. In addition to this, the ED has previously engaged in similar restitution efforts. Notably, the anti-money laundering agency successfully distributed funds to around 20 lakh victims of the Rose Valley Chit Fund scam in West Bengal.

In that case, approximately Rs 10,000 crore was fraudulently collected, and the ED has already allocated Rs 12 crore to the defrauded individuals, with more distributions planned.