Pearls Group illegally disposed of properties worth ₹1,200 crore

Despite the Supreme Court ban in 2016, PACL India Limited or Pearls Group, disposed of properties worth ₹1,200 crore bought with investors’ money till a case was registered against it in 2020.

Punjab Police made this valuation claim in the chargesheet against Harsatinder Singh Hayer, the son-in-law of Pearls Group owner Nirmal Singh Bhangu, after a special investigation team (SIT), led by Ferozepur range deputy inspector general of police Hardial Singh Mann, found that the properties were disposed of by either selling or illegally transferring them despite the ban.

The chargesheet in the case registered in Ferozepur district in 2020 was filed in a Zira court recently by the SIT, including Tarn Taran SP (headquarters) Gurnam Singh, Jalalabad DSP Palwinder Singh Sandhu and Zira DSP Rajwinder Singh Randhawa.

Bhangu’s relatives among 55 accused

Fifty-five people, including company officials and family members of Bhangu, who is already behind bars for a Ponzi scam involving ₹48,000 crore, were booked for cheating, criminal conspiracy and other sections of the Indian Penal Code at Zira police station on July 16, 2020.

The SIT arrested Hayer from Mohali in May this year, while Bhangu’s daughter, Barinder Kaur, was arrested from Delhi airport in July when she was reportedly leaving for the United States.

Several other arrests were made on the complaint of Pardeep Singh of Bhadson in Patiala district.

In 2016, the Supreme Court restrained the PACL and its directors, promoters and associate companies from selling or transferring properties in or outside India. In December 2015, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) ordered attachment of all PACL assets and its nine promoters and directors for their failure to refund money to investors. A panel headed by Justice RM Lodha (retired) had initiated the process of refunds to investors.

The chargesheet said that besides Hayer and Barinder, Bhangu’s nephew Gurpreet Singh Bhangu, his brother-in-law Avtar Singh, company directors and aides, including Munish Jakhar, Tarlochan Singh, Sarabjit Singh Sanghera of Australia, were prime accused.

Money trail abroad leads to properties sold illegally

“Hayer kept self-attested identity proofs and stamp papers of his employees and other people with himself and used them for the illegal sale of the properties,” the chargesheet said. He transferred huge amounts abroad for investment. The cybercrime report of his mobile phones proved that the money transferred out of the country was collected by selling properties purchased with public money.

The police found an agreement for the sale of Golden Public School in Derabassi, for ₹33 crore. Hayer was a member of the governing council of the school spread over 16 acres. According to the sale agreement, the full payment of ₹33 crore was to be made before April 2022, but he took ₹16 crore and registered the sale deed of 7 acres of school land in the name of a Delhi-based firm.

Despite the court’s ban, Hayer, his wife Barinder and servant sold the school property bought with public money. “Hayer made cash collected through the illegal sale of the company properties flow into PACL sister concerns,” the chargesheet said.

Servants, drivers made company directors

After Bhangu was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Hayer, his wife Barinder and mother-in-law Prem Kaur looked after the business. They formed new firms, the directors of which were their relatives, including Avtar Singh and Gurpreet, and servants and drivers, including Manoj Kumar, Ashwani Kumar and Kashmir Singh. “Hayer used their identity proofs for the illegal sale of properties and signed blank cheques to withdraw or transfer the money of illegal sale,” the chargesheet said.

It mentioned a transaction of ₹10 crore between the bank accounts of Sanghera and Hayer.

Properties in Gurugram, Mohali and Mumbai sold

Punjab Police traced 30 new prime properties in Gurugram, Zirakpur and Mumbai that were bought with public money but didn’t get registered with the seizure memo of the CBI. The police seized hundreds of sale agreements of properties in the company. “Hayer also tried to dispose of the Pearls Tourism prime properties in Madagascar,” the chargesheet said.

In Mohali district, 112 flats in the Nirmal Chaya project of the company were sold in ₹27 crore without the mandatory approval of the district and sessions judge by company director and accused Munish Jakhar. Besides, company properties in Chachhroli village of Dera Bassi, were illegally sold, the chargesheet said.

The accused illegally transferred two flats in Goregaon West in Mumbai, seized by the CBI, without making any payment in 2020 through power of attorney to a private firm.

The chargesheet said that the company had 480 acres of commercial land near Cycle Valley at Buddhewal village of Ludhiana district, but it was being illegally cultivated by Karamjit Singh, a relative of accused Tarlochan Singh on rent of ₹74 lakh a year. The rent was not being deposited since 2015.

Company directors Gurpreet Singh and Sukhjeet Singh sold properties worth ₹5.78 crore in Daun and Kasba villages of Patiala district. Gurpreet and Sukhjeet along with Bhupinder Singh of Patiala are accused in the case.

Illegal sale of properties in Hoshiarpur, SBS Nagar

Accused Gurjeet Singh sold 175 kanals of company land at Patial village of Hoshiarpur district, while accused Darshan Singh of Rupnagar sold 274 kanals at Narur village and 464 kanals at Behra village in Hoshiarpur were sold by Sanjay Soni and Anoop Kumar of Delhi.

In Garhshankar area of Hoshiarpur district, 160 kanals at Achalpur were sold in a similar way. Nearly 498 kanals situated at Malewal village were illegally sold by accused Manoj Kumar and Ashwani Kumar of Mohali.

The PACL gave ₹650 crore to sister firm Petra Estate Private Limited run by Rupinder Singh and Kanwaljeet Singh of Mohali. Later, Petra Estate transferred the amount to Australia and bought properties.

“164 kanals of company land were disposed of at Kookanet village in Bathinda district, while the company bought 27 acres at Pohlomajra in Fatehgarh Sahib district only to sell it to its own director, Tarlochan Singh, and his relatives. The Enforcement Directorate also found Tarlochan Singh transferred ₹164 crore of the PACL as its director,” the chargesheet said. PACL agent Rampal transferred commercial properties in connivance with revenue officials in Fazilka.