June 28, 2023: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has apprehended RK Arora, the chairman of the Supertech Group of Companies, as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering activities. According to sources familiar with the matter, Arora was taken into custody in Delhi.
The ED initiated the probe against Arora and his company based on multiple first information reports (FIRs) filed by the police departments of Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh following complaints from homebuyers. The allegations stated that the company and its directors engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud people by collecting funds from prospective buyers for booked flats in their real estate projects. However, they failed to fulfill their obligations by not providing timely possession of the flats, effectively deceiving the general public.
During the investigation conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the ED discovered that Supertech Ltd and its group companies collected funds from homebuyers and obtained project-specific term loans from banks or financial institutions for construction purposes. However, these funds were misappropriated and diverted for the purchase of land under the names of other group companies, which were subsequently pledged as collateral to borrow more funds from banks or financial institutions. In April, the ED attached the company's assets as a result of these findings.
Additionally, the Supertech Group defaulted on its loan payments to banks, with approximately ₹1,500 crore of such loans classified as non-performing assets (NPA), according to the ED.
In April, the Noida administration sealed the Supertech Group for its failure to pay dues.
As part of the investigation, the ED previously attached 25 immovable properties, valued at ₹40.39 crore, belonging to the Supertech Group of Companies and their directors. These properties were located in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, and Meerut Mall in Uttar Pradesh.
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