New Delhi, July 21: The Enforcement Directorate on Monday arrested Sandeep Yadav and Arvind Walia, both directors and key promoters of the real estate firm Ramprastha Group, in connection with a money laundering probe involving an alleged ₹1,100 crore fraud affecting more than 2,000 homebuyers.
Officials said the arrests were made after early morning searches at multiple premises linked to the duo in the National Capital Region, including locations in Gurugram. The action was taken by the Gurugram zonal office of the federal agency under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
According to the ED, Yadav and Walia are majority shareholders and directors of Ramprastha Promoters and Developers Pvt. Ltd. (RPDPL), the company at the center of the probe. The agency alleges that the firm raised around ₹1,100 crore from buyers through several residential schemes over the years, including Project Edge, Project Skyz, Project Rise, and Ramprastha City—a plotted colony project.
However, despite the substantial collections, authorities say the company has failed to hand over possession of flats or plots to the buyers even after delays stretching up to two decades.
“More than 2,000 people invested their life savings in the promise of homes, but are still waiting after 15 to 20 years,” a senior official involved in the investigation told this reporter, requesting anonymity due to the ongoing nature of the case.
Sources added that the ED is investigating the alleged diversion and laundering of these funds. “We suspect the money collected was not fully used for the construction of housing projects and was instead diverted through various shell companies,” said an official.
The arrests mark a significant development in the wider crackdown on real estate frauds, especially cases where builders collect advances from homebuyers but fail to deliver on promised possession timelines.
Yadav and Walia were taken into custody on Monday and are expected to be produced before a special PMLA court for custodial remand. The ED is likely to seek further interrogation to trace the flow of funds and establish the money trail.
Efforts are also underway to identify other assets linked to the accused that may be attached under the provisions of the anti-money laundering law.
The ED’s case is based on multiple complaints filed by aggrieved homebuyers and an earlier investigation by state police and regulatory authorities. The agency may file a prosecution complaint (equivalent to a charge sheet) following detailed scrutiny of the financial transactions of RPDPL and its promoters.
A homebuyer associated with Project Rise said, “We booked our flat in 2009, hoping we’d move in within three years. It’s been over a decade, and all we’ve seen are promises and delays.”
With the arrests, affected buyers hope that enforcement action may finally lead to some accountability. The case is expected to unravel more layers of alleged financial misconduct within the company’s operations.
