ED attaches Rs 115-crore land of Chennai developer

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached land worth Rs 115 crore of VGN Developers in Chennai in a case of bank fraud while purchasing the land in 2013, an official said on Saturday.

The agency attached 10.46 acre under-construction land in Guindy, near Chennai, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the State Bank of India (SBI) fraud case related to the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act, 2002, or the SARFAESI Act.

The land was purchased by VGN Developers Pvt Ltd in 2013 from Hindusthan Teleprinters Ltd, a government of India undertaking, an ED statement said.

"It was alleged that an official of SBI's stressed assets management branch, the company representatives and the buyers conspired among themselves.

"They sold the prime land having a guideline value of Rs 387 crore for sale price of Rs 272 crore and thus caused a wrongful loss to the government to the tune of Rs 115 crore, thereby obtained corresponding wrongful gain to themselves," said the statement.

In its investigations, the ED identified that the proceeds of crime in the form of wrongful gain derived by VGN Developers had been integrated in the construction of multi-storey residential apartments at Guindy for sale to general public in the name of "VGN Fairmont".

The Central Bureau of Investigation had earlier registered an FIR in the case in Chennai for causing wrongful loss of Rs 115 crore by VGN Developers to the central government by acquiring 10.46 acre of vacant land at Guindy from SBI's stressed assets management branch through a private sale treaty under the SARFAESI Act to recover the dues of Hindusthan Teleprinters.

--IANS

rak/nir