The controversial Pearls Group’s assets continue to amaze the CBI. In its latest findings, the CBI has claimed that the beleaguered group, embroiled in a major chit fund scam, owns two entire sectors and nearly half of two other sectors in Mohali.
Pearls Group fully owns Sectors 100 and 104, besides half of Sectors 96 and 99, an analysis by the CBI into the assets of the group, which is accused of duping over five crore investors of about Rs 51,000 crore, has revealed.
The group was planning to develop the sectors as a residential township called Pearls City, which their website claims is spread over 500 acres, agency sources said. The group allegedly duped investors by promising to provide land in return for their investment.
The CBI probe has revealed that in addition to Mohali, the group also owns 750 acres in Banur near Chandigarh which is emerging as a new property hub in Punjab.
The sources said the group also owns 400 acres of land in ludhiana besides vast stretches of land in Zirakpur in Punjab, on which it is developing Nirmal Chaya, a residential colony. Zirakpur is fast emerging as a satellite town near Chandigarh.
The agency had earlier found that Pearls Group owns 66 offices in upscale Connaught Place in Delhi, besides 600 acres in the national Capital.
The group also operates a medical college cum hospital in Patiala and an educational trust in Chandigarh. The group ran trusts for medical colleges, hospitals and other educational institutions.
They said the properties could run into thousands of crores as per the present market rates in the area.
The agency is giving details of the properties to the Justice RM lodha Committee which has been entrusted by the Supreme Court to work on steps to return the money collected from the investors.
The apex court had directed the agency to hand over all the records related to properties of PACl to the Securities and Exchange Board of India which was asked to take steps to sell the land in order to refund money to the investors.
Pearls Group Chairman Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, who also has around 80 luxury cars, and three other executives were arrested by the CBI on January 8 in connection with the alleged swindling of depositors’ money.
Sources said Bhangoo’s assets in Mumbai are yet to be examined but preliminary estimates suggest the worth of the properties there could run into several thousand crores.
The Pearls Group also owns a whopping 1,841 acres of agricultural land, worth nearly Rs 700 crore, in Haryana besides 44 commercial properties in Gurgaon whose sale deed value is Rs 92.5 crore but the actual market value could be much more.
As many as 1,300 “suspect” bank accounts of the company, its directors and associated firms are under the scanner even as the CBI has frozen assets (mostly Fixed Deposits) to the tune of Rs 280 crore. In addition, Rs 108 crore has been deposited with the Delhi High Court.
The agency has seized 20,000 property documents showing investments to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore. The group also has offshore investments, including in Australia.