ED attaches ₹44 crore assets of Mumbai builder in ₹400 crore housing fraud probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached properties worth ₹44.07 crore belonging to Mumbai-based builder Lalit Tekchandani and his associates in connection with a ₹400 crore housing fraud case. The action falls under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The attached assets include a luxurious villa in Dubai, multiple residential and business properties in Mumbai, land parcels in Pune, and significant fixed deposits. Additionally, the ED has already frozen or seized investments in shares, mutual funds, and fixed deposits worth ₹158 crore in the same case.

The probe stems from two FIRs filed at the Taloja and Chembur police stations, alleging that M/s Supreme Construction & Developers Pvt Ltd, led by Tekchandani, collected ₹400 crore from over 1,700 homebuyers for a delayed housing project in Taloja, Navi Mumbai. The project was never completed, and buyers neither received their flats nor refunds, prompting legal action.

Investigators discovered that Tekchandani and his associates laundered the funds for personal gain, diverting them into assets held under various names, including those of family members. The ED arrested him on March 18, 2024, and he remains in judicial custody. His interrogation revealed that even after resigning from the company's ownership and directorship, he continued to manipulate company assets with the help of accomplices.

Authorities also found that company receivables were siphoned off into accounts of an associate entity, further deepening the financial fraud. The ED has intensified its probe, and additional seizures and arrests may follow as more evidence emerges.

With the real estate sector already under scrutiny for fraudulent practices, this case highlights the growing need for stricter regulatory oversight to protect homebuyers from financial scams.