The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a major crackdown on August 1 against a Bengaluru-based real estate company and its top promoters for allegedly defrauding homebuyers of hundreds of crores under the guise of selling flats in a delayed township project.
Searches were conducted at ten locations linked to Ozone Urbana Developers Pvt. Ltd. and its key figures, including founder Satyamoorthi Vasudevan, across Bengaluru and Mumbai under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The investigation stems from multiple police FIRs filed against the company concerning its flagship residential venture, Ozone Urbana, located in Devanahalli Taluk, Bengaluru. Originally slated for completion in 2018, the project has only reached 49% progress as of 2024, sources revealed.
Buyers have neither received possession of their homes nor refunds for undelivered units, prompting serious legal and financial scrutiny.
The ED alleges that the company misled buyers by offering to pay their home loan EMIs until project completion, promising steep discounts for full upfront payments, and advertising an attractive “buyback scheme.” These offers, investigators believe, were used to collect large sums in advance, which were later siphoned off.
Authorities suspect that the misappropriated amount runs into several hundreds of crores, making it one of the larger real estate frauds in recent times.
As the investigation unfolds, the ED is examining the money trail and the potential laundering of collected funds. Legal action is likely to intensify against the company and its directors in the coming weeks.