Guwahati: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 33.66 crore belonging to two private companies based in Manipur, their sole director and associates in connection with an alleged investment fraud that cheated nearly 5,000 investors, officials said.
The Imphal sub-zonal office of the ED issued the second Provisional Attachment Order (PAO) against M/s Birla Emporium Pvt Ltd, M/s Ira Finance Pvt Ltd, their director Yumnam Irabanta Singh and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED launched its probe based on FIRs registered by the CID (Crime Branch), Manipur, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code against Singh, who allegedly operated a fraudulent deposit and investment scheme between 2019 and 2021. Investigators found that the accused entities collected large sums from the public by promising unusually high returns and later siphoned off the funds.
According to the ED, Singh and his associates cheated around 5,000 depositors across Manipur, causing wrongful losses exceeding Rs 250 crore, while generating corresponding unlawful gains for themselves.
The investigation further revealed that Birla Emporium Pvt Ltd and Ira Finance Pvt Ltd extended loans to borrowers under a “loan against property” arrangement, but subsequently transferred and registered the mortgaged properties in the names of company directors and staff through sale deeds.
Officials said the companies shut down operations in the first quarter of 2020 without repaying investors.
The promoters retained properties registered in their names without returning them to the original owners. The ED said the accused used the diverted funds, identified as proceeds of crime, to acquire multiple movable and immovable assets.
Earlier, the agency had provisionally attached properties worth Rs 28.02 crore linked to the companies, Singh and his associates.
The agency has also filed a prosecution complaint seeking confiscation of the attached assets before the Special PMLA court in Imphal East on June 6, 2025, against Birla Emporium Pvt Ltd, Yumnam Irabanta Singh and others.
Further investigation identified 121 additional immovable properties registered in the names of the two companies, Singh and his associates, which the ED said they had acquired using proceeds of crime. The agency has now provisionally attached these assets, valued at Rs 33.66 crore.
With the latest action, the ED has so far attached assets worth Rs 61.68 crore in the case. Further investigation is underway.