The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its probe into the Sahara Group by attaching assets worth ₹1,538 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). This latest development comes as part of a sweeping investigation into what the agency has described as one of the country’s largest-ever Ponzi-style schemes.
1,023 Acres of Land Across 16 Cities Seized
The ED, in its official statement on Wednesday, announced a provisional attachment of 1,023 acres of land held by Sahara Prime City Limited. These assets, spread across 16 cities in states including Gujarat, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Jammu & Kashmir, and Uttar Pradesh, were allegedly acquired through benami transactions using funds diverted from other Sahara entities.
The total value of the seized assets is pegged at ₹1,538 crore based on 2016 circle rates. The ED claims the real estate holdings were bought with illegally sourced money from unregulated deposit schemes.
Sahara Accused of Running Ponzi-Style Schemes
The money-laundering case stems from over 500 FIRs filed by various state police departments. Specifically, three major FIRs were filed against Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited (HICCSL) and related entities in Odisha, Bihar, and Rajasthan. These were taken up by the ED for detailed analysis and formed the basis of the attachment order.
According to the agency, Sahara Group was operating numerous cooperative societies under various names including:
- HICCSL
- Sahara Credit Cooperative Society Limited (SCCSL)
- Saharayn Universal Multipurpose Cooperative Society (SUMCS)
- Stars Multipurpose Cooperative Society Limited (SMCSL)
- Sahara India Commercial Corporation Limited (SICCL)
- Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Limited (SIRECL)
- Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Limited (SHICL)
These entities allegedly lured investors with promises of high returns and commissions for agents, only to divert the funds through unauthorized and opaque channels.
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Earlier Attachment in Aamby Valley, Fresh Trouble for Sahara
This latest action follows another high-profile asset attachment last week, where the ED seized 707 acres of land in Aamby Valley (Lonavala, Maharashtra), worth approximately ₹1,460 crore at market value. The ED has alleged that Sahara Group “cheated depositors and agents by alluring them with high returns and commissions, then utilised the funds collected in a non-regulated manner without any accountability.”
This multi-layered investigation hints at a systemic pattern of fraud stretching across years and involving lakhs of small investors, many of whom have been awaiting repayment since the early 2010s.
The ED’s actions signify a renewed crackdown on financial misgovernance by large conglomerates and cooperative societies. With more assets likely under scrutiny and law enforcement agencies continuing raids and seizures, Sahara Group’s long-standing legal troubles are only mounting. This case also underscores the importance of tighter regulatory oversight of cooperative credit societies and their fundraising operations.