The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested S Vasudevan, chairman and managing director and promoter of Ozone Urbana Infra Developers Pvt Ltd, in connection with an alleged Rs 927.22-crore homebuyer fraud case, the agency said on Friday.Vasudevan was arrested by the ED’s Bengaluru Zonal Office on September 30 under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.He was produced before a special court in Bengaluru on October 1, which granted the agency 14 days’ custody for further investigation.According to the ED, its investigation found that Ozone Urbana Infra Developers and Vasudevan allegedly defrauded homebuyers by failing to deliver apartments and other units despite receiving money from customers.The agency alleged that the funds were dishonestly retained and diverted, according to news agency ANI.
ED alleges homebuyers were not given possession
The investigation was initiated following multiple FIRs registered under Sections 419, 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, at various police stations in Bengaluru against Ozone Urbana Infra Developers and its promoters.An FIR was also registered against the company and its promoter by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) following a direction from the Supreme Court.The ED said the main allegation against the company was that it failed to complete construction of the project within the stipulated time and did not hand over possession of the flats to customers.“It is alleged that the company induced the gullible customer by offering to pay pre-construction EMIs till handing over the possession of the flat to homebuyers. However, it has failed to honour its commitments and did not complete the project and flats. The builder neither delivered possession of the residential units to homebuyers nor refunded their deposited amount and misappropriated the entire upfront booking amount/loan amount,” the ED said in a statement.The agency said its investigation had found that the company and Vasudevan allegedly defrauded homebuyers of Rs 927.22 crore and did not deliver possession of apartments and units against the money received.
ED had attached Rs 423 crore worth of properties
The ED’s Bengaluru Zonal Office had conducted search operations under Section 17 of the PMLA on August 1 last year in connection with the case and seized documents from various premises.Based on its investigation and the material gathered, the agency had issued a Provisional Attachment Order on October 4 last year, provisionally attaching immovable properties valued at Rs 423.378 crore under the PMLA.A parallel PMLA investigation was also initiated on the basis of three FIRs registered by the CBI in New Delhi against Ozone Infra Developers Pvt Ltd, Ozone Realtors Pvt Ltd and Ozone Projects Pvt Ltd for allegedly defrauding homebuyers.According to the ED, Vasudevan is a common director in all three companies under investigation.The agency said his arrest followed material gathered during the investigation and would help it probe the alleged generation, diversion, layering and utilisation of proceeds of crime, including the role of the promoter, various group entities and persons through whom the funds were allegedly routed.