ED restores over ₹520 crore to legitimate claimant in Cox & Kings money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday announced the successful restoration of attached properties to a legitimate claimant in the money laundering case involving Cox & Kings Ltd. (CKL), its promoters, and others.

The total Proceeds of Crime identified in the CKL fraud amount to approximately ₹4,100 crore. The investigation revealed that ₹1,066 crore of these proceeds had been siphoned off to V Hotels Ltd., of which ₹520.80 crore was attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

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The attached properties were confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority. Subsequently, V Hotels Ltd. underwent a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), and Macrotech Developers Ltd. was approved as the Successful Resolution Applicant (SRA).

Following a Supreme Court order in a Special Leave Petition filed by the ED, the SRA deposited ₹520.80 crore, representing the substituted value of the attached properties, into an interest-bearing fixed deposit with the State Bank of India.

During the proceedings, the ED, citing Section 8(8) of the PMLA and Section 32A of the IBC, consented to the restitution of the deposited amount to the SRA. This consent was conditional on the SRA having no connection with the erstwhile management or beneficiaries of the Proceeds of Crime.

The Supreme Court ordered the restoration of the ₹520.80 crore deposit, along with the accumulated interest, to the SRA under Section 8(8) of the PMLA. The Court also placed on record its appreciation for the earnest efforts made by ED officers in restoring the attached properties to safeguard the interests of justice.

The Directorate reiterated its commitment to confiscating Proceeds of Crime and prosecuting those involved in money laundering, while also ensuring the restitution of assets to rightful stakeholders in accordance with the law.