ED Arrests M3M Promoter Basant Bansal, Days after Arresting his brother Roop Bansal in Money Laundering Case

New Delhi, 15th June 2023: Basant Bansal, the promoter of M3M, was detained by the Enforcement Directorate just days after his brother Roop Bansal was arrested in a money laundering case.

The ED is investigating the company for allegedly diverting, syphoning, and misappropriating funds. The M3M Group and the IREO Group have been caught laundering about Rs 400 crore, according to the agency.

Basant Bansal was arrested after the Delhi High Court gave him and Pankaj Bansal interim protection from arrest until July 5. In the event of his arrest, the court stated he will be allowed bail subject to various restrictions and a personal bond of Rs 10 lakh.

The decisions were issued in response to separate anticipatory bail applications filed by Basant Bansal and Pankaj Bansal in the case being investigated by the ED.

Meanwhile, Roop Bansal was detained days earlier when the ED searched seven real estate developers’ properties in Delhi and Gurugram.

Multiple FIRs have been filed against the IREO Group, prompting the ED to conduct an investigation. The agency then claimed that a large sum of money, amounting to hundreds of crores, was syphoned off through M3M Group.

According to the ED, M3M Group got Rs 400 crore from IREO Group via many shell firms in multiple layers, which the latter reported as payments via development rights.

M3M Group owned the land, which had a market worth of Rs 4 crore. It sold the rights to the lands to five shell firms, which it said were unrelated, for Rs 10 crore. According to the agency, further inquiry into the incident found that the shell firms were operated by M3M Group.

The shell companies subsequently sold the same land’s development rights to IREO Group for around Rs 400 crore, which was instantly transferred. Following receipt of the funds, the shell businesses transferred the funds to M3M Group.

The agency said, “All the shell companies were owned and operated by M3M Group under the directions of its promoters Basant Bansal and Roop Kumar Bansal and his family members.”

According to the CBI, the companies stole Rs 400 crore from investors and customers, while the proceeds of the crime remained with the M3M Group and were utilised for other investments and to pay off creditors.

IREO never developed the area and began writing down the investments every year, according to ED.