Mumbai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 33.89 crore belonging to Mumbai-based realty developer Jayesh Vinodkumar Tanna, his family members, and associated firms in connection with a money laundering case linked to stalled redevelopment projects across the city.
The attachment, made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), includes agricultural land, residential flats, commercial shops, and a bungalow located in Mumbai and Ahmednagar, the central agency said on Wednesday.
The action is based on multiple FIRs registered by Mumbai Police against Jayesh Tanna and his brother Deep Vinodkumar Tanna, promoters of the Sai Group and others for allegedly duping flat buyers and tenants by abandoning housing projects midway. Police have already filed chargesheets in most of the cases.
According to the ED’s findings, the promoters of the Sai Group allegedly collected substantial sums from homebuyers and shop purchasers across multiple redevelopment projects in D N Nagar, Andheri, Kandivali, and Goregaon. Instead of utilizing the funds for construction, and completing the projects, the group is accused of diverting funds for personal use, leaving the projects incomplete and buyers in financial distress. In several instances, the same properties were allegedly sold to multiple buyers. The total estimated loss to homebuyers, tenants, and investors is pegged at Rs 85.75 crore.
In March this year, the agency conducted search operations at nine locations linked to Sai Group entities and their promoters. Officials recovered key documents, digital records, and evidence pointing to the illegal diversion of funds and acquisition of assets through suspected laundered money.
Jayesh Tanna has been in judicial custody since late 2023. A court denied him bail earlier this year, citing the serious nature of the offences, including cheating, forgery, and criminal breach of trust.
According to ED officials, the investigation is ongoing. The agency is examining several shell companies and suspected benami transactions. Possible foreign linkages are also under scrutiny.
