The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday said it has restituted movable and immovable properties worth Rs 52.31 crore to the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Authority in the 2014 Aryarup Tourism and Club Resort scam. According to the ED, Aryarup promoters promised high returns on investments, but did not give back the investors their money and instead diverted funds for the purchase of immovable properties at different locations. During the investigation, it was also found that the Proceeds Of Crime (POC) were parked in different benami accounts. These funds along with immovable properties situated in Rajasthan and Thane worth Rs 29.20 crore were attached under Section 5 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during 2013-14. In April 2014, the central agency also filed a Prosecution Complaint in the case. Thereafter, in April 2021, a Special PMLA court in Mumbai ordered confiscation of the attached properties to the Central Government. An application was moved by the MPID Authority before the Special PMLA Court in Mumbai to modify the 2021 order and allow handover of properties to the MPID. “In the larger interest of depositors and currently ongoing restitution efforts, ED took a pragmatic view and supported the application moved by the MPID Authority by filing an affidavit before the Special Court to hand over the properties to them so that the same can be restituted to the legitimate bona fide depositors,” ED stated in a statement. On the basis of ED’s affidavit, the special PMLA Court on March 11 ordered the handing over of immovable and movable properties which are presently valued at Rs 52.31 crore to the Competent Authority under MPID Act, 1999.
