The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Imphal Sub-Zonal Office, has provisionally attached 13 immovable properties valued at Rs 3.92 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 in Manipur.
The case relates to two private firms – M/s Birla Emporium Pvt. Ltd and M/s Ira Finance Pvt. Ltd.
The properties, located across Thoubal, Imphal East and Imphal West districts of Manipur, stand registered in the name of the company through its staff and associated persons, the ED said in a statement.
It said the ED initiated an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the CID (Crime Branch), Imphal, under Sections 420 and 120-B IPC, 1860, which are scheduled offences under the PMLA, 2002.
Investigation revealed that M/s Birla Emporium Pvt. Ltd and M/s Ira Finance Pvt. Ltd, controlled by Yumnam Irabanta Singh along with his associates, operated an unauthorised and unregulated deposit scheme, functioning like a bank or NBFC without any registration from the RBI, SEBI or the state authorities.
According to the statement, the entities allegedly collected about Rs 253 crore from around 5,511 investors by promising exorbitant monthly returns of three to five per cent, advanced roughly Rs 100 crore as loans against property, and diverted the proceeds into properties, stock-market and forex investments.
In order to secure the loans, the properties of borrowers were transferred by a sale deed into the names of the directors and staff, who have no genuine claim to them.
ED Cracks Down on Manipur Ponzi Firms; 13 Assets Worth Rs 3.92 Cr Attached Under PMLA
