Properties worth over ₹5,000 cr attached in PACL investment case
New Delhi: In its largest single-case property attachment, the Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached 126 immovable properties valued at ₹5,046.91 crore in connection with a massive land investment fraud case against PACL Ltd.
The properties provisionally attached are located in Punjab and Delhi, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
The probe relates to a collective investment scheme whereby PACL, led by Nirmal Singh Bhangoo (deceased), and related entities allegedly deceitfully mobilised over ₹48,000 crore from tens of thousands of investors under the guise of sale and development of agricultural land.
ED launched its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in February 2014. The said FIR was registered on the direction of the Supreme Court of India.
Subsequently, CBI filed a charge-sheet and a supplementary chargesheet against 33 accused including individuals and companies for their role in running an illegal investment scheme.
ED registered an ECIR (equivalent to an FIR) in 2016 and filed its first prosecution complaint (equivalent to a chargesheet) in 2018, followed by four supplementary prosecution complaints in 2022, 2025 and 2026, against various accused persons and entities involved in laundering the proceeds of crime. The concerned court has taken cognizance of all prosecution complaints filed so far.
The agency on Friday said the attached 126 properties have been identified as having been acquired from investors' funds, constituting proceeds of crime. "With this attachment, ED has so far attached movable and immovable properties worth approximately ₹22,656.91 crore, including assets located in India and abroad, belonging to M/s PACL and its related entities/ persons," the statement read.
ET in December 2025 had reported that PGF Ltd and PACL, under the control of Bhangoo and his close associates, allegedly operated a massive illegal collective investment scheme in violation of applicable laws.
The scheme was structured through Cash Down Payment Plans and Instalment Payment Plans, wherein investors were induced to execute misleading documents such as agreements, special power of attorney and testamentary instruments. Registration and allotment letters were issued to investors despite the fact that the companies did not own or control many of those plots. In most cases, investors neither received possession of land nor legitimate returns, officials said.
The properties provisionally attached are located in Punjab and Delhi, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
The probe relates to a collective investment scheme whereby PACL, led by Nirmal Singh Bhangoo (deceased), and related entities allegedly deceitfully mobilised over ₹48,000 crore from tens of thousands of investors under the guise of sale and development of agricultural land.
ED launched its probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in February 2014. The said FIR was registered on the direction of the Supreme Court of India.
Subsequently, CBI filed a charge-sheet and a supplementary chargesheet against 33 accused including individuals and companies for their role in running an illegal investment scheme.
ED registered an ECIR (equivalent to an FIR) in 2016 and filed its first prosecution complaint (equivalent to a chargesheet) in 2018, followed by four supplementary prosecution complaints in 2022, 2025 and 2026, against various accused persons and entities involved in laundering the proceeds of crime. The concerned court has taken cognizance of all prosecution complaints filed so far.
The agency on Friday said the attached 126 properties have been identified as having been acquired from investors' funds, constituting proceeds of crime. "With this attachment, ED has so far attached movable and immovable properties worth approximately ₹22,656.91 crore, including assets located in India and abroad, belonging to M/s PACL and its related entities/ persons," the statement read.
ET in December 2025 had reported that PGF Ltd and PACL, under the control of Bhangoo and his close associates, allegedly operated a massive illegal collective investment scheme in violation of applicable laws.
The scheme was structured through Cash Down Payment Plans and Instalment Payment Plans, wherein investors were induced to execute misleading documents such as agreements, special power of attorney and testamentary instruments. Registration and allotment letters were issued to investors despite the fact that the companies did not own or control many of those plots. In most cases, investors neither received possession of land nor legitimate returns, officials said.
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