Key accused in Manesar land scam is dead, ED tells court

Bhartesh Singh Thakur

Chandigarh, February 9

The main accused in the Manesar land scam, Atul Bansal, is now dead. Bansal, a builder, had allegedly earned the maximum gains in the scam worth Rs 169.25 crore in connivance with “public servants” and “government machinery”.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, Panchkula, on February 7, that Bansal, who has been absconding since 2018, has died. Special Judge Sudhir Parmar has asked the ED to file the death certificate of Bansal and furnish details of his wife Sona Bansal, also an accused in the scam, so that a production warrant could be issued to her for February 28.

A notification to acquire 912 acres and 7 marlas land was issued under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on August 27, 2004, in Manesar, Lakhnaula, and Naurangpur villages in Gurugram. Bansal was well aware of the acquisition proceedings but despite that, he purchased the notified land, in the name of his companies namely Aditya Buildwell Pvt. Ltd. (now known as ABWIL), Jassum Estates Pvt Ltd, Jassum Towers Pvt Ltd, and Jassum Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, as he knew he would get the land released.

He applied for licences for 190 acres on December 28, 2006, on behalf of 15 firms though he had no authorisation on behalf of 11 firms, the fact that was overlooked by Director Town and Country Planning (DTCP), Haryana. In conspiracy with “bureaucrats” and “government machinery”, he procured six licences and further sold three of them, earning Rs 169.25 crore as “proceeds of crime”, says the ED.

For hiding the “proceeds of crime”, ABWIL entered into fabricated agreements to sell in respect of the different land portions to different entities. It procured negligible advances from them in cash and took cheques as advances for the land to be sold.

But the cheques were never presented to respective banks for clearing purposes. Later on, the agreements to sell were cancelled and new cancellation-cum-settlement agreements were got prepared to score off the previous deals. A whooping compensation to the extent of six to seven times the amount as per agreements to sell was paid.

ABWIL and its group companies, in lieu of compensation awarded by them to these entities via RTGS or NEFT or cheques, got back the respective amounts in cash which facilitated them to integrate the “proceeds of crime”, which was diverted through these companies and were kept hidden from the different law enforcement agencies, says the ED.

Most of these entities, with whom Bansal had dubious transactions, were manufacturers, traders of iron and steel products, and it was common practice in their businesses to receive such entries so as to decorate their balance sheets by way of enhancement of their profits so as to avail handsome loans or cash credit limits from financial institutions, added the ED.

It was after the lapse of the acquisition proceedings on August 24, 2007, that the application for licences of ABWIL and its group companies was processed. Bansal sold two licences to M/s DLF Home Developers Ltd for Rs 150.96 crore and one to M/s Kalinga Realtors Pvt Ltd for Rs 37.96 crore, while his profit was Rs 169.25 crore.

‘Used govt machinery to siphon off crores’

• Atul Bansal applied for licences for 190 acres on December 28, 2006, on behalf of 15 firms though he had no authorisation on behalf of 11 firms, the fact that was overlooked by Director Town and Country Planning, Haryana
• In conspiracy with “bureaucrats” and “government machinery”, he procured six licences and further sold three of them, earning Rs 169.25 crore as “proceeds of crime”, says the ED