New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday said it has arrested the main promoter of a Noida-based real estate company under the anti-money laundering law in a case linked to the alleged diversion of home buyers' funds worth Rs 107 crore.

Anil Mithas of the Unnati Group was taken into custody on April 16. A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad sent him to the ED's custody till April 24, the federal probe agency said in a statement.

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The money-laundering case stems from FIRs filed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Uttar Pradesh government against Unnati Fortune Holdings Limited (UFHL) and its promoters for "cheating and fraud" of Rs 107 crore.

The ED said its probe has found that an amount of Rs 522.9 crore was collected between 2012 and 2019 from home buyers by Unnati Fortune Holdings Limited and IVRCL Infrastructure and Projects Limited for a residential project named ARANYA located in Sector 119 in Uttar Pradesh's Noida.

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Instead of using the entire money for construction, the promoters used "some part" for the said purpose and "siphoned off" the rest by way of "fake loans and advances, share premium, advance payment for material, deposits etc." to various companies.

The Noida project got stuck due to a lack of money, the ED said.

An audit report of the company, prepared on the directions of the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UPRERA), showed "diversion" of Rs 107 crore worth funds, the agency said.

Some other police FIRs were lodged in connection with the case, where it was found that flats were "fraudulently" sold to multiple buyers, it added.

"The promoters failed to meet their obligations to buyers and violated trust while causing financial harm to multiple families. Hundreds of home buyers were left in lurch and huge money was diverted by the promoters," the ED said.

Thus, by committing the crime of fraud, the accused earned money that is nothing but proceeds of crime, it added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)