KOLKATA — The Enforcement Directorate has conducted fresh searches in connection with the Sahara Prime City land case, raiding multiple premises linked to the company and its officials across Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, officials said Tuesday.
The searches were carried out on February 2 by the agency’s Kolkata Zonal Office at locations in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh; Ballari, Karnataka; and Bhubaneswar and Berhampur in Odisha.
According to the ED, investigators seized electronic and digital evidence during the operations, including WhatsApp communications, contact lists and call records. Financial records, books of accounts and other documents described as incriminating were also taken for detailed examination.
“During the searches, statements of various persons were recorded under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002,” the agency said in a statement.
The action is tied to the alleged fraudulent sale of a land parcel owned by Sahara Prime City Limited in Berhampur, Odisha. The searches were conducted under Section 17(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in connection with an ongoing investigation involving Humara India and others.
Investigators said that approximately 32 acres out of a total 43-acre land parcel in Berhampur were allegedly sold in December 2025 based on a revoked board resolution in favor of a Sahara employee and in violation of Supreme Court guidelines.
“It was revealed during the search that around 32 acres (out of total 43 acres) of land in Odisha’s Berhampur were fraudulently sold in December 2025 based on a revoked Board Resolution in favour of a Sahara employee and in violation of the guidelines of the Supreme Court,” the ED said.
The agency further alleged that the sale was carried out on the directions of senior Sahara Group management and that discrepancies were found between the declared sale consideration and the estimated market value.
The broader investigation stems from FIRs registered under Sections 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code against Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Limited and others in several states.
According to the ED, more than 500 FIRs have been filed against various Sahara Group entities, with over 300 involving scheduled offenses under the money laundering law. The complaints allege large-scale cheating of depositors through forced redeposits and denial of maturity payments.
The ED has alleged that Sahara Group operated what it described as a Ponzi scheme, collecting deposits in an unregulated manner without adequate oversight. Investigators claim maturity proceeds were not repaid but instead reinvested, and that company books were manipulated to conceal non-repayments.
The agency also pointed to intra-group transactions that allegedly shifted large liabilities between entities without commercial justification, ultimately concentrating significant liabilities in four cooperative societies. Despite what the ED described as financial incapacity, the group allegedly continued to collect fresh deposits.
“Due to continuous non-repayment of matured amounts of depositors, the outstanding liability, which is having large interest component, has escalated disproportionately as compared to the principal sum originally collected from the depositors over the years,” the agency said.
Investigators further alleged that substantial deposits were siphoned off to create benami assets, extend loans and for personal use, depriving depositors of their dues.
In the case so far, the ED has issued five provisional attachment orders covering multiple land parcels and other assets, including properties alleged to be held benami. Three individuals have been arrested. Two of them — Anil Vailaparampil Abraham and O.P. Srivastav — remain in judicial custody. The agency said it has already filed a charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet in the matter.
The investigation remains ongoing. (Source: IANS)
