The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized assets worth ₹762.47 crore in connection with the massive PACL Ponzi scam, marking a major development in the ongoing investigation. The attached properties belong to Pearls Group (PACL), its late promoter Nirmal Singh Bhangoo, and associated entities.
A total of 68 immovable assets, including land and buildings across Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, and even Australia, have been attached. The action stems from a ₹48,000 crore fraud case where millions of investors were lured into fake land investment schemes. ED revealed that PACL and its directors collected vast sums of money under fraudulent promises of high returns through land investments, operating what was essentially a Ponzi scheme.
The investigation began in 2015 after the CBI filed an FIR against PACL, PGF Limited, and key individuals including Bhangoo. According to ED, the scam involved diverting and layering investor funds through complex transactions to obscure the illegal origins of the money. The late Nirmal Singh Bhangoo passed away in August 2023.
PACL had promised returns from land development projects but used funds from new investors to pay older ones, a classic Ponzi setup. The latest ED action is aimed at recovering funds for duped investors, many of whom had invested their life savings in the scheme.
