ED conducts searches on premises of Jaypee and other realty firms

NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate on Friday carried out searches on 15 premises in Delhi-NCR and Mumbai linked to Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL), Jaypee Associates Ltd (JAL) and others in connection with an alleged Rs 12,000-crore fraud, and diversion and siphoning off homebuyers' money.

Sources said other associated entities that have been searched include Gaursons, Gulshan, Mahagun and Suraksha Realty, the latter is currently the owner of JIL after winning the bid through insolvency process. The agency initiated investigation under PMLA against JIL and JAL based on multiple FIRs registered by the economic offences wing of Delhi Police and UP Police on complaints filed by hundreds of homebuyers of Jaypee Wish Town and other projects of JIL.

A senior officer said ED is looking into an alleged "fraud with homebuyers and investors of around Rs 12,000 crore and siphoning off and diversion of funds". The former promoters of JIL and JAL are under the scanner while JIL's present owner Suraksha Realty could provide documents available with the company as it is under its control now.

A spokesperson for Suraksha told TOI that "it is a mistaken identity as we have not done any sale or purchase, except construction of the projects". He denied that Suraksha was in any way involved in bank borrowings related to the project. There was no response from Manoj Gaur, the former director of JIL.

The investigation is primarily focused on the alleged frauds by promoters of Jaypee Wish Town, who began selling flats in 2010-11 and were to deliver these within three years. In 2017, several FIRs were filed against the promoters of JIL after homebuyers held demonstrations against police inaction in registering a case against the builder who had collected money from them, and allegedly diverted it to other projects, leading to delay in delivery of thousands of flats.

Many of the homebuyers had put their life savings in Jaypee Infratech projects in Wish Town in Noida and other places, the scheduled delivery of which was to begin in 2013-15 but are pending even today. Jaypee Infratech Ltd, now under Suraksha Realty, has pushed the deadline to deliver possession of more than 10,000 flats from June 2026 to Dec 2028. The Mumbai-based realtor had won the project through insolvency in 2023, and its project deadlines started from May 2024.