The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 340 acres of land valued at Rs 585.46 crore across Haryana and Uttar Pradesh in connection with a money laundering probe against Delhi-NCR-based real estate firm ADEL Landmarks Ltd. (formerly Era Landmarks Ltd.) and its promoters, Hem Singh Bharana and Sumit Bharana.

The action, taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), stems from multiple FIRs alleging that the developer diverted funds collected from thousands of homebuyers, leading to long-delayed and incomplete housing projects across the NCR region, PTI reported.

An order was issued on Friday under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for the provisional attachment of 340 acres of land located in Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, and Bahadurgarh in Haryana, and Meerut and Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The total value of these plots is Rs 585.46 crore.

The money laundering case is based on 74 FIRs and chargesheets filed by the Haryana and Delhi police against the company and its promoters. They are accused of cheating numerous homebuyers by failing to deliver promised flats and units even after a delay of 12-19 years.

The ED revealed that the real estate company launched several residential group housing projects in Gurugram, Faridabad, and Palwal in Haryana. These projects, launched between 2006 and 2012, collected Rs 1,075 crore as an advance booking amount from 4,771 customers across eight projects—Cosmocourt, Cosmocity-I, Cosmocity-III, Skyville, Redwood Residency, Era Green World, Era Divine Court, and ADEL Divine Court. Despite the substantial funds collected, these projects remain incomplete to this day.

The promoters are accused of diverting a significant portion of the funds collected from homebuyers to their group companies for the purchase of land parcels and other purposes, rather than using the funds for the completion of the housing projects. This diversion led to the non-delivery of flats and units, causing significant distress to the homebuyers.

According to the ED, aggrieved customers sought refunds due to the non-delivery of flats and were issued cheques by the company, many of which were dishonoured for various reasons. The company also unilaterally altered project plans and licensed land areas, including reducing the originally proposed land, which denied buyers the basic amenities that were initially promised.

The Enforcement Directorate’s action aims to recover the losses suffered by the homebuyers and to hold the company and its promoters accountable for their fraudulent activities. The attached land will be used to compensate the victims and to ensure that justice is served.

This case highlights the importance of regulatory oversight in the real estate sector to protect consumers from such fraudulent practices. The ED’s proactive approach in attaching assets and investigating money laundering cases sends a strong message to other potential fraudsters in the industry.