A Gurugram-based real estate group has been accused of collecting over Rs 5 billion from homebuyers under the pretext of selling housing plots, only to divert Rs 2.05 billion of these funds to finance a hotel project in Colombo, Sri Lanka, according to a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The case centres on Krrish Realtech and its promoter Amit Katyal, who is already under arrest in a separate money laundering case related to the railway land-for-jobs scam involving Lalu Prasad Yadav and his family.

The ED’s Gurugram zonal office filed the chargesheet in July under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), with a local special court issuing notices to the accused on 19 August. The federal agency alleges that Katyal’s group lured over 400 homebuyers to invest in plots for a project in Gurugram without possessing the necessary legal licences. The funds collected were then allegedly siphoned off into personal accounts and shell companies linked to Katyal and his family.

The ED claims Rs 2.05 billion was rerouted through a shell entity called Mahadev Infrastructure to fund a real estate and hotel venture in Colombo. Additional amounts were used to acquire properties and land through other front companies such as Good Earth Pvt. Ltd., The One Transworks Square Pvt. Ltd. (Sri Lanka), and Heaven Tradelink Pvt. Ltd. Some of the assets were held in the names of Katyal’s family and associates.

Further investigation revealed that Katyal’s son, who has since taken citizenship of Saint Kitts and Nevis, is claiming beneficial ownership of the overseas assets. The agency noted that Katyal never intended to deliver the promised plots to the buyers. Instead, attempts were made to defraud them by selling the same land to multiple investors, fabricating creditors, and filing a staged insolvency plea with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).

The undeveloped 70-acre parcel of land in Gurugram, now valued at around Rs 20 billion, was central to the scheme. The ED found that the list of buyers submitted to the Justice Gita Mittal Committee — appointed by the Supreme Court to adjudicate claims — was manipulated to favour the promoters. Some legitimate buyers were omitted entirely.

The ED’s probe originates from FIRs registered by the Economic Offences Wings of the Delhi and Gurugram Police. Searches conducted last year led to the attachment of several assets, including land parcels in Gurugram sectors 63, 65, and 70, the Colombo hotel project, and properties in Delhi.

The agency emphasised the need for regulatory vigilance, as real estate scams of this nature continue to proliferate in the NCR, driven by rapid urbanisation and lax oversight.