Mohali: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 45 immovable properties worth Rs 999.6 crore as part of its money laundering probe into the alleged Rs 48,000 crore PACL collective investment scam.The properties, located at Rani Khera, Ghewra and Hira Kudna in Delhi, belong to Worldwide Real Estate Pvt Ltd, Worldwide Housing Project Pvt Ltd and Worldwide Infrastructure Pvt Ltd. The ED alleged they were acquired using funds diverted from PACL after being collected from investors.The money laundering investigation stems from a CBI FIR registered under Sections 120-B and 420 of the IPC. The CBI later filed a chargesheet and a supplementary chargesheet against 33 accused for allegedly operating an illegal collective investment scheme.According to the ED, PACL and its associated entities collected over Rs 48,000 crore from lakhs of investors across the country by promising agricultural land under cash payment and instalment schemes. Investors were allegedly made to sign misleading agreements, powers of attorney and other documents. In most cases, the promised land was never transferred, leaving investors unpaid.The ED registered an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in 2016 and filed its first prosecution complaint in 2018. Since then, it has filed six supplementary prosecution complaints between 2022 and 2026 against various accused individuals and entities.The agency said the latest 45 properties were identified as proceeds of crime, purchased with investor funds allegedly siphoned from PACL through the three real estate companies.With the latest attachment, the ED has attached movable and immovable assets worth about Rs 29,625.63 crore in the PACL case, including properties in India and abroad. Further investigation is underway.
