The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Sushil P Mantri, Director of Bangalore-based real estate entity, Mantri Developers Private Limited, in connection with a Rs 1,000 crore money-laundering probe.
The ED started the probe in March on the basis of an FIR registered in Subramanyapura police station, Bengaluru in 2020 against the company and its directors as well as other employees.
“Many home buyers have filed complaints with the police as well as with the ED alleging that accused entities/persons are involved in money laundering and have induced the prospective buyers with rosily painted schemes, showing misleading brochures, falsification of delivery timelines and window dressing and collected more than Rs.1,000 crore as advance money from thousands of buyers,” the ED said in a statement.
However, they have not been given possession of their flats even after the passage of seven to 10 years after the booking. During the investigation, it was also noticed that the company offered various Ponzi-like schemes which were styled as buy-back plans and advance money was collected for the flats/homes, it said.
In some cases, the company has not refunded the amount to the buyers even after a clear direction from the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).
The ED probe further revealed that the company diverted for personal use the amount it collected from the buyers leading to stalling of the project.
Currently, the group has total outstanding loans to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore from various financial institutions, out of which about Rs 1,000 crore is overdue and some of the loan has been termed as non-performing asset (NPA).
It was also revealed during the investigation that the company has cross-collateralized its assets to different financial institutions for taking multiple loans on the same assets.
Following his arrest, Sushil P Mantri was produced before the court which granted his custody to the ED for 10 days, it added.