The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday attached Rs 209 crore worth of assets belonging to the I Monetary Advisory (IMA) Group.
The assets include immovable properties worth Rs 197 crore, Rs 98 lakh from the company’s accounts in various nationalised and cooperative banks and Rs 11 crore that IMA had deposited in an HDFC bank account towards the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana shortly after demonetisation.
The immovable properties include IMA Gold and IMA Jewels, both located on Lady Curzon Road; residential buildings at 30th Cross Road (Bannerghatta Road), Jayanagar, Alexandria Street, Fraser Town, Tasker Town, Pottery Town, HRBR Layout, Benson Town, Davis Road (Richards Town) and Maruthi Seva Nagar. Land parcels in Chikkaballapur, Davangere and Hassan have also been attached.
The assets were attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). “Investigations under the PMLA revealed that the accused companies and its directors have indulged in the offence of money laundering by cheating common people through Ponzi schemes and generated the proceeds of crime in the form of movable and immovable properties,” the ED said in a statement.
The central agency is exploring the possibility of invoking the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, against IMA’s fugitive founder, Mohammed Mansoor Khan.
An analysis of IMA’s 105 bank accounts shows that the company received Rs 4,000 crore in investments which it diverted to various bank accounts and used for acquiring immovable and movable properties, the ED said.
Investigators also believe that the IMA Group wasn’t carrying out any business to pay the promised monthly dividend on investments received from more than 40,000 people.
“The accused and his associates have diverted the amount in various accounts and acquired various immovable and movable properties in his name, in the name of the other directors and associates,” the ED said in the statement.
Apart from these investments, Khan had deposited Rs 44 crore by cash in various bank accounts after demonetisation which was detected
by the Income Tax Department.
“The ED is in the process of issuing a red corner notice against the absconding accused Mohammad Mansoor Khan and is also examining the possibility of invoking the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act,” the ED statement added.