The Enforcement Directorate has recently formally arrested Rajendra Lodha, a former director of Lodha Developers Limited, in connection with an alleged ₹85 crore money laundering case. The action follows a Mumbai Police FIR registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, accusing him of cheating and forgery.

According to the agency, Lodha—who had been in judicial custody since September last year in a related crime branch case—was produced before a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and taken into custody. The ED has alleged that he orchestrated unauthorised transactions, diverted company funds through front entities, and caused wrongful losses exceeding ₹85 crore, news agency PTI reported.

He was arrested in the crime branch case in September last year and has been in judicial custody since then.

The ED, probing the money laundering case, produced him before a special court hearing cases registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on a production remand and placed him under arrest there.

As per the procedure, he will be produced before the ED court on Friday for his first remand.

The ED has alleged that Rajendra Lodha, who was appointed as a director of the company in 2015, overstepped his limited authority – originally restricted only to land acquisition – to orchestrate a series of unauthorised transactions.

He colluded with his son, Sahil Lodha, and close associates to generate, conceal and launder proceeds of crime, causing substantial wrongful loss to the company, the ED has alleged.

The probe agency emphasised that he orchestrated diversion of company funds through bogus possession holders and fabricated MoUs, withdrew funds in cash and unlawfully alienated company land and Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) at undervalued rates.

He also facilitated benami transactions, siphoned off funds through controlled entities, and utilised company resources for personal benefit and for entities linked to his family, it said. Rajendra Lodha facilitated fraudulent and undervalued allotment of residential flats under forged and fabricated permanent alternate Accommodation agreements, without any lawful entitlement, causing wrongful gain to his associates.

As per the probe agency, the total wrongful loss caused to Lodha Developers Ltd was more than ₹85 crore.

The ED highlighted several key methods used by the accused to generate and launder the “proceeds of crime”: In one such instance, Lodha allegedly bypassed the company to purchase land through front entities like Usha Properties and Shreeram Realties.

These lands were later resold to Lodha Developers at grossly inflated prices.

Similarly, 4,150 sq meters of company land in Panvel was sold to a front entity for just ₹48 lakh, despite a market value of approximately ₹10 crore, causing a direct loss of ₹9.50 crore.

The ED found a structured “bogus possession/barter deal” mechanism, where forged MoUs were used to falsely claim individuals as possession holders.

The probe also revealed that the land purchased in 2013 in the name of a company employee, Mangesh Puranik, was fraudulently transferred to Lodha’s associates after Puranik’s death and then resold to the company for a massive profit.