In a significant turn in the ₹48,000-crore PACL scam, the Enforcement Directorate has filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer, exposing new layers of financial misappropriation, offshore laundering, and systemic manipulation of investor funds.
Shadow Money: New Evidence Unfolds in PACL Scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a supplementary prosecution complaint against Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer, the son-in-law of late PACL chairman Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, intensifying the legal dragnet around what is considered one of India’s largest collective investment frauds. The PACL case, estimated at ₹48,000 crore, impacted millions of small investors and is under continuing investigation for cross-border money laundering and asset concealment.
Filed before a special court in Delhi, which took cognizance on June 9, the new charges underscore Hayer’s alleged central role in the diversion and laundering of ₹657.18 crore, used to purchase prime assets abroad and properties across Indian states, including Punjab, Haryana, and Maharashtra. The agency believes these purchases were made using proceeds of crime (PoC) from PACL’s illicit fund mobilization schemes, marketed under the guise of real estate investments.
Offshore Fronts and Australian Links
A striking revelation in the ED’s supplementary complaint is the use of Australian front companies to siphon and park illicit funds. Hayer is listed as the director in several entities, including Pearls Australasia Pty Ltd and Australasia Mirage I-Pty Ltd. The ED claims these entities were instrumental in laundering money and purchasing high-value real estate abroad, particularly in Australia.
The new complaint comes on the back of existing cases filed against PACL and PGF Ltd., dating to a CBI FIR that unravelled a decades-long financial maze. The fraud, led by Bhangoo before his demise in August 2024, was operated through an extensive network of associate firms, shell companies, and bank accounts that facilitated the mobilisation of unregulated investment schemes.
Despite the fact that these properties were purchased from the proceeds of crime, Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer knowingly continued to possess, use, claim, and project these properties as untainted, as stated in the ED’s complaint. Some properties, officials allege, were being dissipated, suggesting attempts to liquidate or transfer ownership in order to obfuscate their origin.
Justice for Investors: Lodha Committee Steps In
A silver lining for the millions of duped investors may lie in the proactive engagement of the Justice Lodha Committee, which was appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee asset recovery and restitution. The ED has submitted details of the attached properties for evaluation and potential liquidation, the proceeds of which would be used to compensate affected investors.
So far, over 11 crore pages of claim documents have been received by the committee, and the recovery process, though slow, is ongoing. The ED has previously filed two prosecution complaints in the case and says it continues to trace global assets linked to PACL’s web of fraud. Hayer, arrested in March, remains in judicial custody. Investigators suggest that further layers of international complicity and domestic collusion are yet to surface, as forensic audits and cross-border probes deepen.
About the author – Prakriti Jha is a student at National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar, currently pursuing B.Sc. LL.B (Hons.) with a keen interest in the intersection of law and data science. She is passionate about exploring how legal frameworks adapt to the evolving challenges of technology and justice.