MUMBAI: A special Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) court on Monday framed charges against the directors of real estate firm Ornate Spaces Pvt Ltd for allegedly cheating homebuyers and investors of around ₹ 28 crore in connection with its unfinished Grove Tower project in Oshiwara.
Special judge Vikram R Jagdale charged the couple with cheating investors, dishonestly misappropriating purchasers’ money, forgery, and fraudulent default against flat purchasers. They also face charges under the Maharashtra Ownership Flats Act (MOFA) for allegedly failing to register agreements for sale, disclose the project’s title and approvals, provide sanctioned plans and properly use the money collected from buyers. The company has also been charged with cheating. The framing of charges clears the way for the trial to begin. Grove Tower is also the subject of a separate money-laundering investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Vijay Machhindar was arrested by the agency in January 2024 for allegedly collecting around ₹ 93.44 crore from flat buyers while obtaining loans totalling around ₹ 710 crore, of which around ₹ 470 crore remained outstanding. In January 2024, while hearing Machhindar’s challenge to his arrest, the Bombay High Court recorded allegations that an investor had been induced to purchase flats after being assured that the project would be completed within three years and would generate substantial returns. The investor had booked 14 flats and paid ₹ 15.6 crore between April 2012 and February 2019, according to the court record.
The ED had said construction of the Oshiwara project had not begun beyond excavation.
The case stems from an investigation by the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing, following an FIR registered at the Oshiwara police station in 2021.
