ED arrests alleged close associate of Lalu Prasad's family in real estate fraud case

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Amit Katyal, a real estate businessman considered closely associated with RJD chief Lalu Prasad's family, in connection with a money laundering case.

The case centres on allegations of Katyal cheating homebuyers in Gurugram, official sources told PTI.

Katyal was taken into custody on Monday by the agency's Gurugram zonal office under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Following his arrest, a special court in Gurugram has sent him to six days of ED custody for further investigation, according to a news report by PTI.

Details of the case

The investigation primarily relates to allegations of non-delivery of flats in the Krrish Florence Estate, located in Gurugram's Sector 70, covering an area of over 14 acres.

The housing project was being developed by Katyal's company, Angle Infrastructure Pvt Ltd.

Katyal's other legal troubles

This is not the first time Katyal has been arrested by the ED. He was also detained in 2023 in a separate money laundering case related to the railways' alleged land-for-jobs scam. This case involved Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, and other family members.

The federal agency had already charge-sheeted the businessman in August in a third case for allegedly collecting over ₹500 crore from homebuyers for housing plots through another firm, Krrish Realtech, where he is a promoter.

He was also accused for allegedly diverting around ₹205 crore from the collected funds to a hotel project in Sri Lanka. The ED said in its chargesheet that it is investigating complaints from a number of homebuyers across the country, many of them registered in the Delhi NCR region, Mint reported earlier.

The proceeds generated from this alleged fraud were “immediately diverted” to the personal accounts of Katyal and other “shell” (paper) companies, which are owned by him and his family members, the Mint report said.

The accused reportedly appointed “dummy” directors in these shell companies, who held various immovable properties.