ED attaches flat worth Rs 86.18 lakh in Chandigarh in a money-laundering case

The property belongs to Vijay Pal Singh and Pardeep Baidwan and was attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

ED's Chandigarh branch provisionally attached the immovable property on Thursday in the case of Manjit Kaur and others.

ED initiated investigation on the basis of various First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by Law Enforcement Agencies, Chandigarh Police on the basis of complaints received from various complainants under various sections of Indian Penal Code, 1860 against the accused Manjit Kaur and her family members.

ED investigation revealed that Manjit Kaur had lured multiple victims by misrepresenting and impersonating herself as a close associate of the Governor and Chairman of Chandigarh Housing Board, Union Territory Administration and claimed that she was in a committee constituted by the administrator of Chandigarh to re-allot and renovate surrendered properties in Chandigarh under various quotas such as Widow quota and Senior Citizen quota.

In this pretext, the agency said, she has cheated various innocent people by dishonestly implicating innocent homebuyers to purchase properties at prime locations.

Further, the ED said, during the course of the investigation, statements of various complainants were recorded, and their bank account statements were analyzed.

"It was revealed that the Proceeds of Crime, thus received in the bank account of Manjit Kaur, is traveling to the bank accounts of Pardeep Baidwan (daughter-in-law of Manjit Kaur) and Vijay Pal Singh (Son of Manjit Kaur)," said the ED.

Further, the federal enforcement agency said, the proceeds of crime were being utilized for the repayment of loans including loan against property and loans availed for the purchase of electronic devices and mobile gadgets.

"During the course of the PMLA investigation, immovable property related to proceeds of crime was identified and a provisional attachment order was issued attaching the property in the name of Vijay Pal Singh and Pardeep Baidwan," added the ED. (ANI)