Kolkata, March 3: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its investigation into the Sahara Prime City land case. Raids were conducted at multiple locations in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, resulting in the seizure of electronic evidence, according to an official statement released on Tuesday.
The ED’s Kolkata zonal office initiated search operations on February 2 in Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh), Ballari (Karnataka), Bhubaneswar, and Berhampur (Odisha). During these searches, digital evidence including WhatsApp communications, contacts, and call records were recovered and confiscated. The statement further noted, “Financial records and account books of the related entities, along with other incriminating documents, were seized for detailed examination.”
Additionally, several statements were recorded under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 during the operations. The searches were linked to the sale of a plot of land by Sahara Prime City Limited in Berhampur, Odisha. The ED clarified that these actions were part of an ongoing investigation under Section 17(1) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
The investigation revealed that approximately 32 acres of land (out of a total of 43 acres) in Berhampur was fraudulently sold in December 2025 based on a canceled board resolution favoring a Sahara employee, violating Supreme Court guidelines. The ED stated that this sale was executed under the directives of the senior management of the Sahara Group. Discrepancies were noted between the sale amount and the estimated market value.
Previously, the ED had launched an investigation based on FIRs filed under Sections 420 and 120B of the IPC against the Our India Credit Cooperative Society Limited (HICCSL) and others across several states. The statement further revealed that over 500 FIRs have been registered against various companies of the Sahara Group, with more than 300 related to offenses under the PMLA, including large-scale fraud against depositors by coercively re-depositing and denying maturity payments.
The ED’s investigation uncovered that the Sahara Group was operating a Ponzi scheme. Funds collected were managed without regulatory oversight, and maturity amounts were not returned but reinvested, with manipulations in the books to conceal non-repayment. The agency noted that numerous transactions within the group indicated the transfer of significant liabilities from one company to another without any commercial rationale.
Ultimately, four cooperative societies displayed substantial liabilities. Despite financial constraints, the Sahara Group continued to gather new deposits. Due to the ongoing failure to pay depositors their maturity amounts, the outstanding liabilities, which include significant interest, have surged compared to the principal amounts collected over the years. It was revealed that large sums were withdrawn for creating benami assets, providing loans, and personal use, depriving depositors of their rightful dues.
In this case, five provisional attachment orders have been issued to attach several properties of the Sahara Group, including benami lands and assets belonging to others. The ED has arrested three individuals—Anil Vellapparambil, Abraham, and O.P. Srivastava—who are currently in judicial custody. A charge sheet and a supplementary charge sheet have already been filed.
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