PACL scam: ED attaches Rs 762-cr assets in India, Oz

The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached immovable assets worth around Rs 762.47 crore of PACL Limited, its directors, promoters and affiliated entities, an official said here on Saturday.

The attached properties are situated in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra and Australia. The ED’s investigation follows a CBI FIR filed under Sections 120-B and 420 of the IPC against PACL Limited, PGF Limited, late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo and others.

The agency alleged the companies operated fraudulent investment schemes that misled investors, thereby amassing around Rs 48,000 crore in illicit funds.

According to the ED, these funds were siphoned through layered financial transactions to obscure their origin. It said, “The laundered money was invested in 68 immovable properties, registered in the names of Bhangoo, his family and related entities, to present these as legitimate assets.”

The agency emphasised that the property attachment aimed at recovering proceeds of crime disguised as lawful assets.

Punjab