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Delhi High Court has set aside a provisional attachment of Piramal RealtyAssets worth ₹410 crore by the Enforcement Directorate. In an order passed a week ago, the high court, relying on a string of Supreme Court judgments, held that the provisional attachment of properties by the ED “cannot continue” as the realty company was “not held as an accused and there was only one lender to M/s. Omkar Realtors & Developers (“ORDPL”)”, a company which was being probed by the agency on charges of money laundering.
The HC made it clear that the ED was free to seek revival of the temporary attachment orders “in accordance with law, if there is a change of circumstances”.
The company (Piramal) has also been given liberty to “file an appropriate application if the assets are not released”.
According to ED, Omkar Group took a loan of ₹410 crore from yes bank construction of buildings for slum dwellers under Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) Scheme in Wadala MumbaiBut redirected the money to other companies.
The agency is probing the alleged ₹22,000 crore SRA scam by the promoters Omkar Realtors & Developers, Kamal Gupta and Babulal Verma. The agency last year shifted its focus to its association with the real estate arm of the Piramal Group.
The high court had last August restrained the petitioner company (Piramal Realty) from “disposing of or creating third party rights or enclosing the property”, as first reported by ET.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for the company, argued that there was no link between the company’s actual interest in the attached properties and any alleged offense or proceeds of crime.
Aggarwal further said that in January this year Mumbai Police filed closure report against Omkar Relators and even the case set up by ED was closed.
He claimed that Piramal Realty was only one of the lenders and the ED attached its properties in a “completely unwarranted manner”.
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