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The Enforcement Directorate has filed a prosecution complaint against real estate firm Raheja Developers Limited, its managing director Navin Raheja, and members of his family in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to a multi-crore fraud involving homebuyers. Submitted before the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Saket, the chargesheet names Raheja Developers Limited, Navin Raheja, his son Nayan Raheja, daughter Nayana Singhania, wife Nirmal Raheja, and 16 other individuals and corporate entities. Through this filing, the central investigation agency has sought the judicial confiscation of properties tied to the alleged fraud holding a current market value of Rs 2,399.65 crore, against an estimated book value of Rs 810 crore.
The case originated from first information reports registered by the Economic Offences Wing of Delhi Police and Gurugram Police based on multiple formal complaints submitted by aggrieved property buyers. These buyers had invested in apartments and commercial units across various developer projects, including Raheja Revanta, Atlantis, Navin Minar, and The Delhi Mall. Despite making substantial payments within stipulated contractual schedules, the investors received neither physical possession of their units nor refunds from the real estate firm.
Funds Diverted From Escrow And Project Accounts
According to the central agency, Raheja Developers collected around Rs 2,699 crore from nearly 4,600 homebuyers and investors across residential and commercial developments located in Delhi and Gurugram under promises of scheduled completion. Instead of deploying these finances toward construction, investigators determined that substantial funds were siphoned away, identifying Rs 1,353.26 crore as total proceeds of crime.
The agency pointed out that Rs 1,175.86 crore was withdrawn directly from designated project accounts, escrow reserves, and Real Estate Regulatory Authority accounts for purposes unrelated to site construction. In addition, investigators found that Rs 177.40 crore had been collected directly from buyers in cash transactions outside the formal registered agreements.
Front Companies Used For Land Purchases
The Enforcement Directorate alleged that money paid by buyers was systematically routed to sister concerns and businesses managed by employees and their relatives acting as nominee directors. These diverted sums were subsequently utilised to purchase land parcels in the names of these proxy firms. Furthermore, statutory funds held in regulatory escrow accounts were shifted between different housing schemes, leaving the majority of group developments stalled and unfinished across the national capital region.
Promoters Failed To Cooperate With Probe
The agency stated that all four members of the Raheja promoter family intentionally avoided attending search operations carried out in June and failed to appear before investigators when summoned. Separately, Nayan Raheja had submitted an anticipatory bail application, which was rejected by the special Saket court in September, a decision subsequently affirmed by the Delhi High Court in October.
Raheja Developers had previously maintained that extensive delivery delays at its Raheja Revanta project in Gurugram were caused by a failure of government authorities to supply essential civic infrastructure despite the company paying required statutory levies. The company argued that delivering possession of the 61-storey high-rise without essential water, electricity, sewerage, and firefighting connections posed severe resident safety risks.
