ED attaches assets wroth Rs 158.85 crore in Rohtas Group money laundering case

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 24 (ANI): The Lucknow Zonal Office of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached 75 immovable properties and two movable assets worth Rs 158.85 crore under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in connection with a money laundering case linked to Rohtas Project Limited and others.
According to officials, the current market value of the attached properties is estimated to be over Rs 350 crore. As per an official statement, the immovable properties, valued at Rs 141.21 crore, are registered in the name of Deepak Rastogi, promoter of the Rohtas Group of companies, its associate firms, including Vardan Township Pvt Ltd, several alleged benamidars of the group, and Adhyaye Realty Infrastructure LLP.

ED, Lucknow Zonal Office, has provisionally attached 75 immovable and 2 movable properties worth Rs. 158.85 Crore, having a current market value of more than Rs. 350 Crore, under PMLA, 2002, in connection with a money laundering case related to M/s Rohtas Project Limited &… pic.twitter.com/gjMbALoJPk

— ED (@dir_ed) January 23, 2026

The two movable properties, valued at Rs 17.64 crore, are registered in the name of Highness Infra Developers Pvt Ltd. All the attached immovable properties are located in Lucknow. The ED initiated its investigation under the PMLA following the registration of 83 FIRs by the Uttar Pradesh Police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
The FIRs pertain to alleged fraudulent activities by Rohtas Project Limited, which launched multiple township schemes, including the Sultanpur Road Project, the Raebareli Road Project, and Rohtas Plumeria.
Under these schemes, customers were offered plots, land parcels and flats of varying sizes, with assurances that after 30 months from the date of booking, they could either take possession of the property or receive a lump-sum payout equivalent to 150 per cent of the booking amount.
Investigations revealed that the promised projects were neither developed nor was the invested money returned to the customers.
The ED further found that the promoters of the Rohtas Group allegedly diverted funds collected from buyers to acquire land in the names of associate companies and benamidars.
To further conceal ownership of these land assets, the associate companies holding the properties were transferred to Vardan Township Pvt Ltd. Similarly, land parcels held in the names of benamidars were later transferred to Adhyaye Realty Infrastructure LLP.
Officials also stated that certain land parcels were subsequently acquired by Deepak Rastogi from these benamidars and mortgaged with banks. This was allegedly done to layer and integrate the proceeds of crime by leveraging the properties to obtain legitimate banking funds.
The ED noted that in October 2025, it had provisionally attached 68 immovable properties worth Rs 110.05 crore in the same case. With the latest action, the total value of properties attached so far has risen to Rs 268.9 crore.
Further investigation into the matter is currently underway. (ANI)