The Chandigarh Zone-1 office of the Enforcement Directorate has conducted extensive searches at residential and business premises linked to TDI Group chairman Ravinder Taneja in connection with an ongoing money laundering probe into the Manesar land case. Carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act across locations in New Delhi and SAS Nagar, the action stems from an earlier FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation. Officials stated that the investigation focuses on alleged irregularities during the planned acquisition of more than 400 acres of land across Manesar, Naurangpur, and Nakhdaula villages, where farmers reportedly sold their land to private developers and middlemen at deflated rates before the acquisition was abruptly abandoned, leading to substantial resale profits.
Scrutiny of 33-Acre Land Transactions
Investigators are concentrating on transactions involving entities and properties connected to the TDI Group. Findings indicate that between 2005 and 2007, the group acquired around 33 acres of land from local farmers using three front firms: Indo Asian Construction Company Private Limited, NCR Properties Private Limited, and Divya Jyoti Enterprises Private Limited. This land was allegedly sold onward at significantly higher valuations to Atul Bansal’s ABWIL Group. The agency is reviewing original purchase agreements, subsequent sale deeds, and the price differentials to trace the exact financial gains generated for parties linked to the TDI Group and to identify the primary beneficiaries of the transactions.
Three-Day Search Yields Digital Evidence
The search operations continued for more than three days across premises in the two cities, resulting in the seizure of property records, land files, digital storage devices, and servers. Enforcement Directorate officials confirmed that digital forensics experts are analyzing the seized servers and devices to retrieve emails, account ledgers, and transaction records. Investigators believe the recovered material will help establish the money trail, demonstrating how funds were transferred among various entities and whether the proceeds of the land deals were channeled through money laundering networks.
Broadening Scope of the Laundering Probe
The wider investigation into the Manesar land issue now encompasses every stage of the transaction chain, starting from the preliminary notification of land acquisition to private purchases from farmers and subsequent high-value transfers to major real estate developers. Officials noted that the scrutiny of financial data, corporate filings, and electronic evidence seized during the recent raids will clarify the role of additional individuals and corporate entities linked to the TDI Group. The agency stated that further persons of interest may be called for questioning as the analysis of the seized documentation progresses.
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