PACL Money Laundering Case: ED Attaches Prime Panchkula Properties Worth Rs 696 Crore
• A Decade-Long Investor Nightmare
• Web of Front Companies Used to Launder Rs 48,000 Crore
• From Gurugram Raids to Australian Assets
Enforcement Directorate’s latest crackdown in the Rs 48,000 crore PACL Ponzi scam. Rs 696 crore Panchkula assets attached, revealing complex layering by Bhangoo-led group. These prime assets, spread across 11 high-value plots, were allegedly acquired through proceeds of crime and hidden under multiple front companies. The Sprouts News Investigation Team (SIT) reports that this action marks a decisive step in exposing the laundering network built by the Bhangoo-led group, which siphoned investor funds across India and abroad.
- PACL Money Laundering Case: ED Attaches Prime Panchkula Properties Worth Rs 696 Crore
- • A Decade-Long Investor Nightmare
- • Web of Front Companies Used to Launder Rs 48,000 Crore
- • From Gurugram Raids to Australian Assets
- PACL Money Laundering Case: ED Attaches Prime Panchkula Properties Worth Rs 696 Crore
- The PACL Ponzi Scam: A Decade-Long Investor Nightmare
- Web of Front Companies Used to Launder Funds
- From Gurugram Raids to Australian Assets: The Global Trail
- The Long Road to Justice and Investor Refunds
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PACL Money Laundering Case: ED Attaches Prime Panchkula Properties Worth Rs 696 Crore
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached prime immovable properties valued at a staggering Rs 696.21 crore in Panchkula, Haryana, intensifying its money laundering probe against PACL Ltd and its associates. This major action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, marks a critical step in recovering funds from one of India’s most notorious financial frauds, which duped investors of an estimated Rs 48,000 crore.
The attached assets, comprising 11 high-value properties, were allegedly acquired using proceeds of crime from the massive Ponzi scheme. According to the ED, these properties were strategically purchased in the names of several front companies, including DSS Megacity Pvt Ltd and Saramati Realtors Pvt Ltd, to conceal their illicit origin. This discovery is a result of the Sprouts News Investigation Team’s (SIT) ongoing analysis of the complex financial web woven by the accused.
The PACL Ponzi Scam: A Decade-Long Investor Nightmare
The case, originally registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2014, revolves around PACL and its group entities fraudulently collecting billions from millions of small investors. The group lured investors with promises of high returns through farmland investment schemes, most of which were non-existent. The scam’s magnitude prompted the Supreme Court to intervene, leading to the formation of a Justice (Retd) R.M. Lodha-led committee to oversee asset sales and investor refunds.
The Sprouts News Investigation Team notes that the modus operandi involved elaborate layering techniques. Funds collected from new investors were used to pay returns to earlier ones, a classic Ponzi scheme structure, while the bulk was diverted to purchase assets across India and abroad. The latest attachment in Panchkula is a textbook example of how proceeds of crime were laundered to project tainted money as legitimate.
Click Here To Download the Attachment
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Web of Front Companies Used to Launder Funds
The ED’s investigation has meticulously uncovered the layering process. The Panchkula properties were held by a network of entities, including Shiv Megacity Project Pvt Ltd and Roseco Builders Pvt Ltd, which acted as fronts for the main accused. “This was deliberately done to disguise the true nature of these assets and project them as legitimate properties,” the ED stated in its release.
This action is part of a broader recovery effort. With this attachment, the total value of attached movable and immovable assets in the PACL case has now crossed Rs 2,165 crore. The agency has already filed prosecution complaints before the competent court and continues to trace more assets linked to the scam, aiming to provide restitution to the affected investors.
From Gurugram Raids to Australian Assets: The Global Trail
The ED’s probe has seen a series of high-profile actions. In March 2025, the agency conducted searches at premises in Gurugram linked to Barinder Kaur, daughter of late PACL founder Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and her associate, seizing crucial digital evidence and property documents. Earlier, in July 2025, the ED had attached properties worth Rs 762.47 crore spread across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, and even Australia.
These assets, acquired in the names of Bhangoo’s family members and connected entities, underscore the global reach of the investigation. The PACL money laundering case exemplifies the challenges authorities face in dismantling sophisticated financial networks designed to hide the proceeds of crime from one of India’s largest collective investment scheme frauds.
The Long Road to Justice and Investor Refunds
The Justice Lodha committee has been processing refunds for duped investors in phases, currently focusing on claims up to Rs 10,000. The committee’s work, coupled with the ED’s aggressive asset attachment drive, represents the government’s concerted effort to claw back lost funds. The scale of the fraud is immense, with mobilisation of funds by PACL dating back to before 1997.
The Sprouts News Investigation Team concludes that while these enforcement actions are significant, they highlight the critical need for stringent regulatory oversight to prevent such schemes from flourishing. The ED has confirmed that its investigation is ongoing to unearth more assets and identify all entities involved in concealing the illicit gains from the PACL scam.
