The Enforcement Directorate Thursday arrested Manoj Gaur, former MD of realty company Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), and took him into custody under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions, in connection with a money laundering case linked to Rs 14,599 crore alleged fraud with home buyers.
Gaur was sent to five-day ED custody by a Delhi court.
An ED spokesperson said in a statement, “The arrest was made following a detailed investigation and analysis of evidence gathered during the ongoing probe in an ECIR recorded by the ED under PMLA in connection with the Jaypee Group. The investigation has established the central role of Gaur in the planning and execution of the fund diversion through a complex web of transactions within the Jaypee Group and its associated entities.”
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The ED initiated investigation against Jaypee group after multiple FIRs were filed by the Economic Offences Wings (EOW) of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police, based on complaints by homebuyers of Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens projects, alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal breach of trust against the company and its promoters.
“It has been alleged that the funds collected from thousands of homebuyers for construction and completion of residential projects were diverted for purposes other than construction, leaving home buyers defrauded and their projects incomplete,” the spokesperson said.
“Probe has also revealed that out of approximately Rs 14,599 crore collected by Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) and JIL from homebuyers (as per claims admitted by NCLT), substantial amounts were diverted for non-construction purposes and siphoned off to related group entities and trusts, including Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), Jaypee Healthcare Ltd (JHL), and Jaypee Sports International Ltd (JSIL),” the spokesperson said.
“It has also been revealed during investigation that Gaur is the Managing Trustee of Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), which received part of the diverted funds.On May 23, the ED had conducted search operations at 15 locations in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Mumbai, including the offices and premises of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd and Jaypee Infratech Ltd. During searches, ED seized a large volume of financial and digital records, along with documents evidencing the offence of money laundering and diversion of funds,” the spokesperson said.
