ED attaches 48 properties worth Rs 567.45 crore in PACL fraud case across Pune, Mumbai and Raigad

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has taken major action in the alleged financial scam linked to PACL. A total of 48 immovable properties in Pune, Mumbai and Raigad have been provisionally attached. The properties are valued at Rs 567.45 crore. According to information received from Pune on October 22, 2026, the properties are allegedly in the names of Prateek Kumar, his son Ansh Prateek Kumar and companies linked to them.

The action has been taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. It is part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged misappropriation of money collected from investors across the country.

According to the investigation, PACL and its associated entities ran investment schemes linked to the sale and development of agricultural land. Through these, more than Rs 48,000 crore was allegedly collected from lakhs of investors. Investors were given the option of paying a lump sum or in instalments. But it is alleged that many investors never received the land they were promised and large sums remained stuck.

The ED began its investigation on the basis of a case registered by the CBI in Delhi. The case carries charges of criminal conspiracy and cheating, under Sections 120-B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code. The CBI has filed a chargesheet and supplementary chargesheets against 33 accused in connection with these alleged illegal investment schemes.

According to the ED's findings, the properties now attached were bought with money allegedly drawn out of PACL that had originally been taken from investors. The agency has treated the properties as proceeds of the alleged crime.

The ED's investigation has been under way since 2016, when an ECIR was registered in the alleged money laundering case. A prosecution complaint was filed in 2018. Six supplementary prosecution complaints were then filed against individuals and entities in 2022, 2025 and 2026.

Prateek Kumar was named accused number 13 in the first supplementary prosecution complaint, filed on August 20, 2022. The special court took cognisance of the case on September 19, 2022. A non-bailable warrant was subsequently issued against him on April 9, 2025.

After the latest action, the total value of movable and immovable properties, in India and abroad, attached by the ED in the PACL case has reached about Rs 30,235.21 crore, according to figures given by the agency. The investigation is continuing, and officials are examining the alleged misappropriation of investors' money and the properties bought with it.