STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Guwahati Zonal Office, has issued a Provisional Attachment Order under Section 5(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), attaching movable and immovable properties worth Rs 5.54 crore (approx.) in the case of M/s Jeevan Suraksha Group of Companies and its directors. The attached assets comprise credit balances of Rs 1.42 crore (approx.) lying in 48 bank accounts and 22 immovable properties valued at Rs 4.11 crore (approx.) located in the states of Assam, Meghalaya and West Bengal.
ED initiated an investigation under the PMLA on the basis of FIRs and charge sheets filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, ACB, Guwahati, under various sections of IPC, 1860, and the Prize Chits and Money Circulation Schemes (Banning) Act, 1978. The matter was also investigated by the CID, Assam (PS Case No. 81/2012) and by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) under Section 212 of the Companies Act, 2013.
Investigation revealed that the Jeevan Suraksha Group, operating principally through M/s Jeevan Suraksha Real Estate Ltd., M/s Jeevan Suraksha Associate Marketing Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Jeevan Suraksha Energy and Industries Ltd., along with its sister concerns, floated a Ponzi/money-circulation scheme through a pyramidal network of agents and about 422 branches spread across the North-Eastern States. Under camouflaged schemes such as recurring and fixed deposits, product and plot bookings, monthly income schemes and redeemable preference shares, the Group induced approximately 6,88,192 investors to part with their money on the promise of abnormally high returns, without holding any licence or authorisation to accept such deposits.
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