Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested prominent property realtor Ajay Sehgal, secretary of the Indian Cooperative House Building Society, in connection with a major money laundering investigation. The high-profile arrest is linked to an alleged multi-crore land fraud and Change of Land Use scam surrounding the “Suntec City” mega housing project in New Delhi’s neighboring state of Punjab. Central agency officials confirmed that Sehgal is scheduled to be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court in Chandigarh this afternoon, where investigators will seek his custodial remand.
The federal anti-money laundering agency initiated its formal probe following multiple criminal cases registered by the state police at the Mullanpur police station in SAS Nagar, Mohali. The initial police complaints charged the promoters with criminal conspiracy, cheating, and forgery. Federal investigators state that the society office-bearers systematically manipulated state administrative protocols to secure highly lucrative commercial clearances. Specifically, the agency alleged that the accused forged consent letters, signatures, and thumb impressions of 15 local landowners to falsely claim control over approximately 30.5 acres of agricultural land, utilizing the fabricated documentation to obtain statutory CLU approvals from state development regulators.
According to enforcement officials, the fraudulent regulatory clearances were subsequently used to launch the massive Suntec City residential project alongside twin commercial complexes known as “La Canela” and “District 7”. Operating without executed sale deeds, the promoters aggressively enrolled thousands of unsuspecting homebuyers and investors into the housing society, generating illicit sales and collection proceeds exceeding 150 crore rupees. The federal agency has formally categorized these collective real estate revenues as “proceeds of crime”, noting that all units across the unauthorized developments were systematically sold off to the public before administrative discrepancies came to light.
The financial crackdown comes on the heels of extensive search and seizure operations conducted by federal teams across a dozen corporate and residential locations in Chandigarh and Mohali earlier this month. The widening corporate probe has already resulted in the seizure of unaccounted cash and digital ledgers detailing off-the-books transactions. Following intense litigation initiated by aggrieved property buyers and affected landholders, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority recently canceled the license of the cooperative housing society altogether, while central investigators continue to examine parallel administrative collusion within local town planning departments.
