PANAJI
Goa emerged as one of the prime links in the Enforcement Directorate’s investigation into the alleged Rs 500 crore 32nd Avenue Group fraud, with the central agency identifying a yacht in the State and immovable properties as suspected assets acquired through diverted investor funds.
In coordinated searches carried out on April 13 and 14 across seven premises in Delhi-NCR, Goa, Jaipur and Mumbai, the Directorate said it unearthed evidence pointing to an organised real estate-linked Ponzi scheme that allegedly duped hundreds of investors through repeated sale of the same virtual commercial spaces.
The Goa angle, officials said, goes beyond the searches themselves as properties have been identified in Goa, along with assets in Gurugram and Maharashtra, believed to have been purchased using proceeds of crime. Among the luxury assets allegedly traced to the accused is a yacht in Goa, which the agency stated was part of an extravagant lifestyle financed through investor money.
The probe centres on the 32nd Avenue Group and its promoter-directors, Anubhav Sharma and Dhruv Sharma, against whom FIRs were registered by Delhi Police and Gurugram Police under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the ED, the accused allegedly induced investors to buy commercial spaces with promises of assured rental returns and long-term value appreciation. The investigation has revealed that the same units were allegedly sold multiple times by altering layout maps and reassigning the same virtual spaces to different buyers.
Officials further said the promoters would initially lease back these units and pay attractive rental returns for a few months, creating the appearance of a profitable investment. Thereafter, the same spaces were allegedly resold to new investors, allowing the operation to function as a fraudulent Ponzi-style scheme.
“Proceeds of crime in excess of Rs 500 crore were generated by diverting investor funds,” officials said, adding that the money was subsequently layered through multiple shell and benami entities to conceal its origin. The searches led to the seizure of Rs 1.05 crore in cash and gold bullion and jewellery worth about Rs 1.5 crore. The ED also froze lockers and certain bank accounts, while seizing property-related documents, digital devices and other incriminating material.
Dhruv Sharma and Shirin Sharma are already in judicial custody after their arrest by Haryana Police in the underlying cheating case, while Anubhav Sharma and Mamta Sharma are allegedly absconding.
