The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday arrested real estate tycoon Lalit Goyal in a money laundering case, the agency said. The law enforcement agency said that he had cheated home buyers and investors.
After his arrest, a special court in Chandigarh sent him to Enforcement Directorate’s custody for seven days.
Goyal is the vice-chairperson of IREO group. The company had allegedly transferred $77 million (approximately Rs 573 crore) worth of homebuyers funds, investments and shareholdings to an offshore entity, the newspaper had reported in an investigative article published in October.
The article was a part of a global investigation based on confidential documents, dubbed as “Pandora Papers”, from 14 offshore service firms that allegedly set up shell companies for clients seeking to keep their financial activities discreet.
Since 2010, the Enforcement Directorate has been investigating a case related to the violation of Foreign Exchange Management Act against IREO group.
Goyal had been detained by the authorities at the Delhi airport last Thursday as he was trying to board a plane to the United States, according to NDTV.
The detention was based on a lookout circular issued against him in connection with a case filed in Chandigarh, according to Mint.
“Since his detention at the airport, we have been questioning him,” an unidentified official from the Enforcement Directorate told The Indian Express. “He was appearing before ED every day for interrogation but has been evading questions. Since he has not been cooperating, he had to be put under arrest.”
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