ED Raids Ex-Noida CEO and Developers in Multi-Crore Fraud; Rs 20 Crore in Cash, Gold, and Diamonds Recovered

Lucknow / September 21, 2024: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the premises of former IAS officer and former Noida Authority CEO, Mohinder Singh, and promoters and directors of Hacienda Projects Private Limited (HPPL). The raids began late on Wednesday and were still ongoing at the time of this report.

The ED searched 12 locations across Meerut, Noida, Goa, Delhi, and Chandigarh. Sources revealed that the agency has so far recovered Rs 1 crore in cash, diamonds valued at Rs 12 crore, and gold worth Rs 7 crore from these locations. Singh, along with HPPL promoters and directors, is accused of money laundering Rs 636 crore.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched an investigation into the case following a directive from the Allahabad High Court in March this year. A consortium of companies had been allocated land in Sector 107 as part of a group housing scheme introduced by the Noida Authority in 2010-11. Hacienda Projects Private Limited (HPPL) was formed as a special-purpose vehicle for constructing and developing a residential project.

The land lease was signed in 2010, with Nirmal Singh, Surpreet Singh Suri, and Vidur Bhardwaj as the promoters and directors of the project.

The project, named Lotus 300, was intended to include only 300 apartments. However, the promoters, without making any personal investment, first secured large plots of prime land, launched the project, and collected Rs 636 crore from homebuyers. Of this amount, they allegedly siphoned off around Rs 190 crore. Additionally, they sold a portion of the land to a third-party company, kept the entire sale proceeds of Rs 236 crore for themselves, and made only minimal payments to the Noida Authority towards land costs, premium, and lease rent, which they were obligated to pay. They now stand accused of defrauding homebuyers, the Noida Authority, banks, and other creditors.

After misappropriating the funds, the directors resigned from the companies, forcing them into insolvency to avoid criminal and civil liabilities. It is alleged that while homebuyers were struggling to take possession of their apartments, the Noida Authority continued to allocate large plots of land to new companies established by one of the promoters.