ED attached immovable assets worth Rs.300.4 Crore for cheating home buyers of Mantri Serenity

The Directorate of Enforcement(ED) has issued a Provisional Attachment Order under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 attaching immovable assets worth INR 300.4 Crore in a money laundering case against Mantri Group for cheating home buyers of “Mantri Serenity”, “Mantri Web City” & “MantriEnergia” residential projects.

Home buyers were duped by M/s Castles Vista Private Limited (a subsidiary of Mantri Developers Private Limited) and M/s Buoyant Technology Constellations Pvt. Ltd. (a subsidiary of Mantri Developers Private Limited) using rosy-colored schemes, deceptive brochures, fabricated delivery dates, and window dressing. But even after seven to ten years of collecting deposits from potential house purchasers, the apartments still haven’t been delivered.

On the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Subramanyapura Police Station in Bangalore under various sections of the IPC, 1860, an investigation under the provisions of the PMLA, 2002 was commenced. Additionally, numerous FIRs have been filed at Cubbon Park Police Station in Bangalore by property buyers accusing M/s Mantri Developers Private Limited, its subsidiaries, directors, and promoters of defrauding the public by luring customers with false promises.

In conjunction with the ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the Enforcement Directorate detained Sushil P. Mantri, the founder and promoter director of Mantri Developers Pvt. Ltd., a real estate company with its headquarters in Bangalore, on June 24, 2022. A deeper investigation revealed that M/s Mantri Developers Private Limited and its subsidiaries had stolen money from property buyers and used it for unrelated projects, which is a criminal breach of trust. Money from homebuyers that was supplied to developers in good faith has been misappropriated and diverted for uses other than project building, committing the crime of money laundering under Section 3 of the PMLA, 2002, and misappropriating INR 300.4 Crore out of the monies obtained from homebuyers.

Accordingly, immovable assets worth INR 300.4 Crore in “Mantri Serenity” & “Mantri Energia” residential projects have been attached under PMLA.

Further investigation in the case is ongoing.