The ED raids Mahira Group’s facilities and seizes assets worth crores
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at 11 locations in Samalkha, Haryana, and Delhi, which belonged to Mahira Infratech Pvt. Ltd. and other companies of the Mahira Group. The raids were carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. During the search, the ED seized four luxury cars valued at around Rs 4 crore, jewelry worth Rs 14.5 lakhs, and cash amounting to Rs 4.5 lakhs. Additionally, evidence related to the siphoning of homebuyer funds was also found.
The ED initiated the investigations based on FIRs filed by Gurugram Police against Mahira Infratech Pvt. Ltd. for cheating and forgery. The company had collected approximately Rs 360 crore from 1,497 home buyers under the affordable housing scheme, promising them houses in Gurugram’s Sector 68. However, the company failed to deliver the promised houses within the given deadlines, leading to protests by home buyers.
The ED’s investigations revealed that Mahira Infratech Pvt. Ltd. siphoned off homebuyers’ money by falsely booking construction expenses in group entities. The cash received from these fake purchases was used for personal gains by the directors and promoters of the Mahira Group. Moreover, the directors diverted home buyers’ funds to other group entities as personal loans.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the directors of Mahira Group siphoned off around Rs 107.5 crore from Mahira Infratech Pvt. Ltd. alone, including fake expenses of Rs 57 crore and loans to group entities amounting to Rs 50.50 crore. Investigations are ongoing with respect to financial transactions of four other affordable housing projects.
The directors and key employees of Mahira Group, namely Dharam Singh Chhoker, Sikander Singh, and Vikas Chhoker, were absent during the ED search and have not cooperated with the investigation so far. The ED issued freezing orders for the offices and bank accounts of Mahira Group during the search operations. The investigation into the matter is still ongoing.
