Money laundering case: ED seizes cars, jewellery and cash after raids on Congress' Haryana MLA

New Delhi: Four luxury cars, jewellery worth Rs 14.5 lakh and Rs 4.5 lakh in cash have been seized after raids were conducted against the Congress' Haryana MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker and companies "owned and controlled" by him as part of a money laundering case linked to alleged fraud with homebuyers, the ED said on Monday.

The action under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act came after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched searches against the Samalkha (Panipat) MLA and others on July 25, it said in a statement.

Eleven locations in Samalkha, Gurugram and Delhi belonging to Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd (presently Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd) and other group companies of Mahira Group "owned and controlled" by Chhoker and his family were raided.

The money laundering case stems from an FIR by the Gurugram Police against the accused and Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd for "cheating and forgery" as it is alleged to have collected about Rs 360 crore from 1,497 homebuyers under the affordable housing scheme on the promise of providing homes at Sector 68 in Gurugram, near Delhi, the ED said.

The agency also alleged that Chhoker and his sons, Sikander Singh and Vikas Chhoker, and other key employees remained "absent" during the searches and have not joined the investigation till date. (PTI)