The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties totaling over 401 acre, valued at approximately Rs 834 crore, belonging to Emaar India Ltd and MGF Developments.
These assets, located across 20 villages in Haryana's Gurugram district and Delhi, include land parcels worth Rs 501.13 crore from Emaar and Rs 332.69 crore from MGF Developments.
The ED's action is part of an investigation into alleged money laundering linked to licenses obtained from Haryana's Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) for the development of residential colonies in Gurugram's Sector-65 and 66. This probe was initiated following an FIR by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, former DTCP Director Trilok Chand Gupta, Emaar MGF Land Ltd, and 14 other colonizer companies.
The case involves accusations that the parties fraudulently acquired land at below-market rates by exploiting provisions of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. They allegedly secured notifications under Section 4 and Section 6 of the Act, compelling landowners to sell their properties at undervalued prices before these official notifications were issued. This led to significant losses for the landowners, the public, and the Haryana government, while benefiting the coloniser companies.
In June 2009, the Haryana government issued a notification under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act for 1,417.07 acre of land in Gurugram's Sectors 58 to 63 and 65 to 67. By May 2010, a subsequent notification under Section 6 covered around 850.10 acre of this land. During this period, nearly 600 acre were released from acquisition proceedings, allowing the issuance of Letters of Intent (LOIs) and licenses to the colonisers.
Emaar MGF Land, a joint venture between Dubai's EMAAR Properties PJSC and MGF Developments Ltd, had applied for a license in April 2009 for 112.46 acre in Gurugram's Sector 65 and 66. The DTCP later released 70.406 acre from acquisition, and the company received an LOI for 108.006 acre in May 2010. However, the ED's investigation has revealed that Emaar MGF Land allegedly backdated development agreements with farmers for 27.306 acre, falsely claiming they were executed in April 2009, though they were actually signed in March 2010.
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