‘Allegations against accused are serious’: Court sends ex-Jaypee Infra chairman to ED custody in homebuyer fraud case

“We found several transactions where Gaur’s involvement was found. We are duty-bound to investigate the matter. We have to confront all the documents. He is one of the key people in all the companies. To complete our investigation, we are demanding 7-days of custody,” the ED’s counsel said before Additional Sessions Judge Dhirendra Rana.

The ED had initiated an investigation against the Jaypee group based on multiple FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wings (EOW) of the Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police, based on complaints filed by homebuyers of Jaypee Wishtown and Jaypee Greens projects.

Gaur’s advocate opposed the ED’s plea to seek custody, stating that his client had submitted all documents and had cooperated with the agency by answering their questions. He also underlined the medical ailments of his client, adding that the statements regarding the allegations had been recorded by the ED four years ago.

The court held, “The allegations against the accused are serious in nature. He has been instrumental in the administration of JAL, JII and other subsidiary companies either in the capacity of CEO and Managing Director.”

“It is also a matter of record that hard-earned money of innocent buyers have been invested by him in several companies and 9 FIRs have been registered against him. The amount which is sought to be traced as proceeds of crime is a huge amount and for that purpose detailed and sustained custodial interrogation of the accused is required,” it added.

On May 23, the agency had conducted searches at 15 locations in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, and Mumbai, including the offices and premises of Jaiprakash Associates Ltd. and Jaypee Infratech Ltd.

As per the ED, during the search operations, financial documents, digital devices along with documents relating to immovable properties held in the names of promoters, their family members and the group companies, and Rs 1.70 crore were seized.

The FIR in this case alleged dishonest inducement of homebuyers and investors to invest funds “under the pretext of allotment of residential apartments and plots in projects such as Jaypee Wishtown (JIL) and Jaypee Greens (JAL)”.

The agency had said in a statement, “The ED investigation revealed that out of approximately Rs 14,599 crore collected by JAL and JIL from homebuyers (as per claims admitted by NCLT), substantial amounts were diverted for non-construction purposes and siphoned off to related group entities and trusts, including Jaypee Sewa Sansthan (JSS), M/s Jaypee Healthcare Ltd. (JHL), and M/s Jaypee Sports International Ltd. (JSIL).”