MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached 88.47 acres of land at Alibaug in Raigad district, valued at ₹ 336 crore, as part of its money-laundering probe into the alleged fraudulent diversion of funds from a ₹ 2,434-crore real estate fund floated by Jai Corp Limited.
The ED’s probe was initiated based on a February 2025 case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), following a Bombay High Court order dated January 31, 2025. The ED’s investigation revealed that in 2006-07, Jai Corp Limited launched the UIVCF and mopped up ₹ 2,434 crore from a large number of investors, including public sector banks and public sector financial institutions. Jai Corp Limited, Urban Infrastructure Venture Capital Limited (UIVCF), Urban Infrastructure Trustees Ltd and others were named as accused in the CBI case for alleged financial irregularities, diversion of funds and money laundering. The collected amount was subsequently invested allegedly in a number of special purpose vehicles (separate legal companies created by the parent organisation to handle specific tasks), to undertake construction projects across India.
The ED’s investigation revealed that the value of funds in SPVs was allegedly “undervalued” at ₹ 269.20 crore “in connivance with the management of the UIVCF”. Based on this, investors were allegedly allowed to exit the fund at a significantly undervalued amount, while the residual units of funds were allegedly acquired at a much lower value by five entities related to the promoters of the Jai Corp Limited, ED officials said.
