The CBI probe against the chit fund operator Pearls Group has revealed that its chief Nirmal Singh Bhangoo owned a whopping 1,841 acres of agricultural land worth an estimated Rs700 crore in Haryana besides 44 commercial properties in Gurgaon whose sale deed value is Rs92.5 crore.
Bhangoo has acquired these properties by mobilising funds from dubious operation of chit fund.
CBI sources said the agency has found that the company and its sister concerns hold these properties. Out of the 44 commercial properties in Gurgaon, 14 are located in Global Foyer, the first luxury mall in the Millennium City.
The sources said these 44 commercial properties were purchased at a cost of Rs92.5 crore, according to the sale deeds examined by the agency. The value of these properties must have gone up many folds now, the sources said.
They said the land bank of 1,841 acres is held by Pearls Agrotech Corporation limited (PACl) and its sister concerns in Gurgaon, Ambala, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Mahendragarh, Mewat, Panipat, Panchkula, Rewari and Sirsa.
The Group held approximately 213 acres land in Sirsa, 342 acres in Gurgaon, 8.5 acres in Ambala, 155 acres in Karnal, 174 acres in Kurukshetra, 177 acres in Mahendragarh, 33 acres in Mewat, 146 acres in Panipat, 106 acres in Sonepat, 336 acres in Panchkula and 159 acres in Rewari.
The probe has also revealed that Bhangoo was running a Pearls Educational Institute Trust at Bannu Chowk near Chandigarh and Gyan Sagar Charitbale Hospital and Medical College under the aegis of Gyansagar Medical Trust, Patiala.
During the probe against the group in the last two years, CBI has found 1,300 “suspect” bank accounts of the company, its directors and associated firms, they said, adding the agency has frozen assets (mostly Fixed Deposit receipts) to the tune of Rs280 crore. In addition, Rs108 crore has been deposited with Delhi High Court.
Sources said the agency has seized 20,000 property documents showing investments to the tune of Rs5,000 crore.