The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tightened its grip on the Sahara India Pariwar following the arrest of former Deputy Director O.P. Srivastava. The agency has now expanded its investigation to include more than a dozen former and current directors of various Sahara-linked companies, initiating a detailed assessment of their movable and immovable assets. Officials confirmed that properties suspected to have been purchased using investors’ diverted deposits are likely to be attached soon.
According to sources, the ED’s Kolkata Investigation Wing is preparing for stringent action against those who allegedly operated large-scale Ponzi-style deposit schemes under the Sahara umbrella. These schemes reportedly mobilised funds from lakhs of small investors across India, with the funds subsequently routed to other group entities and, in many cases, used to acquire personal assets by individuals holding senior positions.
Key companies under the scanner
The probe covers a broad network of cooperative societies and real-estate entities whose leadership frequently changed over the years. Prominent among them are:
- Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited
- Saharyan Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited
- Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society
- Sahara India Commercial Corporation Limited
- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited
- Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited
In addition, over a dozen other Sahara-affiliated companies—many of which allegedly played a role in fund diversion—are part of the investigation.
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ED had already seized land worth ₹1,538 crore across 16 cities
Earlier this year, in April 2025, the Enforcement Directorate seized 1,073 acres of land valued at ₹1,538 crore across 16 locations in India, linked to Sahara’s cooperative societies and real-estate projects.
In Uttar Pradesh, the crackdown covered large parcels of land in Lucknow, Moradabad and Lalitpur.
In the state capital, ED attached 107 acres spread across:
- Alu Nagar Diguria, Ghailla Tehsil
- Narharpur village, Bakhshi Ka Talab Tehsil
The agency also discovered unauthorised construction activities on certain parcels under attachment, prompting plans to notify Sub-Registrar Offices to impose immediate restrictions on sale or transfer of these properties.
Illegal fund transfers and benami assets uncovered
Investigations revealed that deposits collected from investors were repeatedly transferred across multiple Sahara-linked companies.
The agency suspects that these internal transfers were meant to obscure audit trails and facilitate personal enrichment.
ED officials believe that several former directors acquired benami properties—assets held in the names of proxies or unrelated individuals—to hide the origin of funds.
These properties are now being mapped, valued, and prepared for attachment under:
- The Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
- The Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act (PBPTA)
Officials indicate that a substantial portion of wealth accumulated by the accused is disproportionate to their declared income, further strengthening the case for enforcement action.
What ED’s next phase of action looks like
The agency has initiated a multi-layer investigation focused on:
- 1. Asset tracing and financial profiling
A dedicated team is analysing property records, bank statements, corporate filings, and digital evidence to build a financial profile of each implicated director.
- 2. Identification of shell entities
Several companies—where directors were frequently rotated—are suspected of being shell entities used to mask fund diversion. These entities are now under forensic audit.
- 3. Benami property attachment
Multiple real-estate assets, agricultural plots and commercial holdings are expected to be attached in the coming weeks.
- 4. Investor refund mechanisms
With lakhs of investors awaiting recovery of their deposits, ED is working to integrate its findings with ongoing judicial proceedings to fast-track restitution.
Background: Sahara under prolonged scrutiny
Sahara India Pariwar has been under regulatory and judicial scrutiny for more than a decade for alleged irregularities in its collective investment operations.
The arrest of O.P. Srivastava — considered one of the most influential figures in the group after the top leadership — has triggered a fresh wave of enforcement activity.
Investigators believe that the current crackdown may uncover one of the largest Ponzi-style cooperative networks in the country, with wide-ranging implications for both directors and intermediaries involved in fund mobilisation and diversion.
