ED tightens its grip on Bhangoo family, seizes properties worth over Rs 1,986 crore in Jaipur and Ludhiana:The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken major action in the Rs 60,000 crore collective investment scheme fraud case involving Agrotech Corporation Ltd.

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 37 immovable properties worth Rs 1,986.48 crore in Ludhiana, Punjab, and Jaipur, Rajasthan, under the PMLA in connection with an investigation into financial irregularities related to a collective investment scheme operated by M/s Agrotech Corporation Limited and its associated companies.

The company defrauded millions of investors across the country of over ₹60,000 crore under the guise of selling and developing agricultural land. The CBI registered a case in Delhi in 2014.

The company's owner, Nirmal Singh Bhangu, duped people by luring them into his trap. He employed hundreds of employees to persuade them to invest. More than 1 million people in Punjab and millions in Rajasthan were targeted. A CBI investigation revealed that people were persuaded to invest through cash down payments and installments.

The scheme collected money by forcing investors to sign documents, but they were not given land. Bhangu, his relatives, and employees deposited the money defrauded from investors in various bank accounts. They used the proceeds to purchase properties in their own names in several locations. Bhangu died during the investigation.

The CBI later issued warrants against Bhangu's wife Prem Kaur, daughters Barinder and Sukhwinder, son-in-law Gurpratap Singh, and associate Prateek Kumar. A total of movable and immovable assets worth ₹7,589 crore have been attached in the case so far.