NSEL cheating case: No takers for Rs 280cr Delhi plot, accused offers to bring in buyers

MUMBAI: No buyer turned up to bid for a Rs 280-crore open Delhi plot that belongs to Mohan India Pvt Ltd, an accused in National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) cheating case, and which has been attached. Interestingly, Mohan India Pvt Ltd has now offered to help the court to bring buyers for this property.
“The competent authority had placed advertisements in newspapers four months ago about the auction.However, not a single buyer turned up. The purpose of the sale is to return the money of investors. Mohan India has offered to bring buyers. Now it’s up to the court to take a call,” said a police officer.
A total of 13,000 investors have lost their money in the Rs 5,600-crore cheating case, which was registered in 2013. Over two dozen people have been arrested in the case. The EOW has frozen 322 bank accounts holding Rs 171 crore, attached over 250 properties worth Rs 8,000 crore and seized 15 cars worth Rs 5.8 crore. Pankaj Saraf, an investor, had filed the offence and named Financial Technologies (FTIL) group chairman Jignesh Shah, MCX Stock Exchange MD Joseph Massey and auditor Mukesh Shah, among others.
An EOW source said that the agency is also in the process of contacting real estate brokers and assets management companies to get a buyer. In January, a Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors court directed the competent authority, a deputy collector rank officer, to begin the process for auctioning of at least five properties, collectively estimated to be worth Rs 354.50 crore. The money fetched through the auction will be distributed among the victims. The properties that will be auctioned include the plot in Delhi, properties of Swastik Overseas Corporation in Ahmedabad (worth Rs 8 crore), a property belonging to NCS Sugar Pvt Ltd in Hyderabad (worth Rs 7 crore), a property of Metkore Alloys & Industries Ltd (worth Rs 50 crore) and another belonging to ARK Imports Pvt Ltd (estimated worth to be Rs 1.5 crore) in Ludhiana.
Sources said Mohan India has also proposed breaking the Delhi plot into smaller units plots and then look for buyers. As many as 16 properties of Mohan India were attached by the EOW and the enforcement directorate.
“We have arrested more than 30 people in this case. It’s a huge investigation and our teams have filed three chargesheets so far. The final chargesheet will take time as we are still probing the case,” said an officer.