Major Crackdown: ED Freezes Assets Worth ₹294.19 Crore in Massive Sunstar Overseas Fraud Case
(Judicial Quest News Network)
New Delhi 28, August, 2024
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in Gurugram has provisionally attached assets worth ₹294.19 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, linked to M/s Sunstar Overseas Ltd. (SOL) and its associates. These assets include lands, buildings, flats, and fixed deposits.
This action follows an investigation initiated by an FIR filed by the CBI’s Anti-Corruption Branch in Chandigarh. The FIR accused SOL and its former directors—Rohit Aggarwal, Manik Aggarwal, Sumit Aggarwal, among others—of committing fraud, criminal misappropriation, and other offenses, leading to a wrongful loss exceeding ₹950 crore to a consortium of nine banks.
The ED’s probe revealed that despite admitted claims of ₹1,274.14 crore against SOL, the company was taken over in CIRP proceedings for just ₹196 crore by M/s Umaiza Infracon LLP, a shell company with no substantial funds. The investigation has already resulted in the arrest of three individuals—Rakesh Gulati, Paramjeet, and Ajay Yadav—who were involved in the conspiracy to regain control of the insolvent company.
The attached assets include 72 acres of land and buildings in Sonipat, Amritsar, and Gurugram worth ₹210.6 crore, two residential properties in Civil Lines, Delhi valued at ₹77 crore, four flats in Karnal worth ₹1.54 crore, along with a bank balance of ₹1.27 crore and fixed deposits totalling ₹3.78 crore. Further investigation is ongoing.
