Delhi HC Grants Interim Protection to M3M Group Owners, Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal in Money Laundering Case

Bengaluru (Aryavarth): The Delhi High Court has provided interim protection from arrest until July 5 to Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal, the owners of the M3M Group, in a money laundering case involving the real estate firm IREO, according to the court's orders passed on June 9. The case is being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

In the event of an arrest, the court stated that the owners would be granted bail, subject to certain conditions, upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh each with two sureties of the same amount. The court's decision came in response to separate anticipatory bail applications filed by Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal.

The court acknowledged that the "primary accused" and promoter of IREO Group, Lalit Goel, had already been granted regular bail. Therefore, considering the totality of the matter and the absence of the applicants' names in the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR), the court opined that interim protection should be granted until the next date of hearing, in the interest of justice and in accordance with the mandate of Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The ED has been given until July 5 to submit a status report and other relevant documents in response to the pre-arrest bail pleas. However, the ED opposed the anticipatory bail pleas of the M3M Group owners.

Recently, the agency had arrested Roop Kumar Bansal, a director of M3M Group, in connection with the investigation into IREO and M3M groups for alleged diversion, siphoning, and misappropriation of funds belonging to investors and customers. On June 1, the ED conducted raids on M3M Group and IREO in Delhi and Gurugram.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged financial irregularities involving M3M Group and IREO Group, totaling over Rs 400 crore. Promoters and directors of M3M Group, including Basant Bansal, Roop Kumar Bansal, and Pankaj Bansal, are accused of evading investigation during ED raids. The searches conducted by the ED resulted in the seizure of luxury cars worth Rs 60 crore, jewelry valued at Rs 5.75 crore, and cash amounting to Rs 15 lakh. The investigation revealed that funds were transferred between IREO and M3M through a network of shell companies.

One transaction highlighted by the ED involves M3M Group receiving Rs 400 crore from IREO Group through shell companies. These transactions were falsely recorded as development rights payments. The ED alleges that M3M Group sold the rights to shell companies it controlled, which then promptly sold them back to IREO Group. The funds remained within M3M Group, allowing them to be used for other purposes. Roop Kumar Bansal, the head of M3M Group, has been arrested in connection with the investigation.

In addition to the this, M3M and IREO have been accused of bribing the CBI Judge, to get a favorable judicial orders. Judge Sudhir Parmar, who was hearing the ED case in which Lalit Goyal, the head of IREO Group, was an accused, faced suspension in April following an FIR filed by the ACB. The FIR alleged that Parmar had demanded and accepted bribes to favor Goyal and the owners of M3M Group, Roop Bansal and Basant Bansal. The recent ED raids on M3M Group on June 1 resulted in the seizure of 17 high-end luxury vehicles worth Rs 60 crore, jewelry valued at Rs 5.75 crore, Rs 15 lakh in cash, and various incriminating documents, digital evidence, and books of accounts.

According to WhatsApp chat screenshots provided to the ACB by an anonymous source, Judge Sudhir Parmar was allegedly demanding Rs 5-7 crore in exchange for helping the owners of M3M Group. The FIR stated that Rs 5 crore was paid to Parmar by the accused in the IREO case. In a recorded phone call, Parmar allegedly mentioned meeting Lalit Goyal's wife and brother-in-law, Sudhanshu Mittal, and assured them of his support.

The allegations against Sudhir Parmar include demanding bribes to favor M3M Group and IREO Group. WhatsApp chat screenshots provided to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) allegedly show Parmar demanding money and assuring support to the accused. Parmar is also accused of preventing Roop Bansal from becoming an accused in the ED case. The recordings reveal Parmar's communication with the accused through his nephew's phone. 

Last week Roop Bansal and retired judge Ved Pal Gupta agreed to provide voice samples in a case involving bribery for favorable judicial orders. Sudhir Parmar, a suspended CBI judge, had previously consented to providing his voice sample.  Bansals have denied all the allegations levelled against them by the agencies.

Meanwhile, in another development, the Uttar Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (UPRERA) has issued a notice to M3M India Pvt. Ltd. for violating the provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act (RERA). The UPRERA found that M3M had not completed the RERA registration process for its 'NOIDEA' project in Gautam Budh Nagar and had started promoting and marketing the units without the necessary approvals. Violations of Section 3 of the RERA Act, which prohibits the advertising and sale of units without proper registration, can result in penalties of up to 10% of the project cost and imprisonment for up to three years for the promoter. M3M has denied launching the project, and said it was creating awareness.

The interim protection granted by the Delhi High Court offers temporary relief to the M3M Group owners, while the ED continues its investigation into the money laundering case involving IREO and the alleged financial irregularities committed by the real estate group.

These developments highlight the legal challenges faced by M3M Group, including money laundering allegations and regulatory non-compliance. The ED has been investigating IREO for several years, focusing on allegations of diverting, siphoning off, and misappropriating funds belonging to investors and customers.


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