Rs224 Crore Assets, Land Rights of Vicinity Hotels Attached by ED

Moneylife Digital Team 16 January 2025

Economy & Nation

The Gurugram zonal office of the directorate of enforcement (ED) has attached immovable properties worth Rs224.08 crore of Vicinity Hotels Pvt Ltd, in the case of Krrish Realtech Pvt Ltd, Amit Katyal and others.

In a release, ED says it has provisionally attached immovable properties on 15 January 2025 worth around Rs224.08 crore in the form of under-construction luxury hotel projects and leasehold rights over four acres at Colombo in Sri Lanka and land rights of Vicinity Hotels in the name of Good Earth Business Park Pvt Ltd, measuring 2.825 acres situated at Gurugram in Haryana under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the case of Krrish Realtech Pvt, Amit Katyal and others.

ED, Gurugram has provisionally attached imovable properties on 15.01.2025 worth Rs. 224.08 Crore (approx) in the form of under construction luxury hotel projects and leasehold rights over 4 acres at 1, Colombo in Srilanka and land rights of M/s Vicinity Hotels Pvt. Ltd in the… pic.twitter.com/5jtzhZdYUa
— ED (@dir_ed) January 16, 2025

ED initiated an investigation on the basis of multiple first information reports (FIRs) registered by the Gurugram police and economic offences wing (EOW) in New Delhi, under various Sections of the Indian penal code (IPC), 1860, against Mr Katyal and his associates. It is alleged that Mr Katyal and Krrish Realtech engaged in the real estate business, have defrauded numerous investors and illicitly transferred hundreds of crores of rupees abroad through a coordinated scheme involving cheating, deception and fraud.

"The company had duped and defrauded numerous plot buyers by resorting to cheating and misrepresentation of facts relating to the project. The company floated a project to provide residential plots at the centre of Gurgaon. However, despite the laspe of more than 13 years, no plots were provided to the plot buyers. Krrish Realtech had collected hard earned money of Rs. 503 Crore belonging to innocent plot buyers," the agency says.

ED's investigation revealed that Mr Katyal, the promoter of Krrish Realtech, willingly siphoned off funds, collected from various plot buyers and investors overseas in a Sri Lankan company, namely, The One Transworks Square (Pvt) Ltd, formerly Krrish Transworks Colombo (Pvt) Ltd which was developing a luxury real estate project in Sri Lanka.

"For this, the promoter has resorted to diversion layering and concealment of funds and projected the funds as legitimate income. Therefore, proceeds of crime (POC) to the tune of Rs205 crore in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the form of land measuring four acres and the undivided share of building and structure over constructed share has been attached by ED," the agency says.

Further, ED says during the investigation it was gathered the accused had also siphoned off funds into a company NCR Business Park Pvt Ltd, now known as Good Earth Business Park. "The said siphoning done by the accused is the proceeds of crime collected from

various plot buyers and investors through diversion and layering. Thus, POC to the tune of Rs19.08 crore in the form of land measuring 2.825 acres situated at Village Badshahpur and Village Ghasola, Sector 66, Gurugram, in the name of the Good Earth Business Park, earlier known as NCR Business Park has also been attached by ED."

Earlier, the agency had attached various properties valuing Rs173.07 crore vide provisional attachment orders (PAOs) dated 6 August 2024 and 17 October 2024.

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