ED Mumbai Restitutes 14 DSK Group Flats Worth Rs 70 Crore to Resolution Applicant

The Enforcement Directorate’s Mumbai Zonal Office has restituted 14 residential flats valued at approximately Rs 70 crore to the Successful Resolution Applicant in connection with a money laundering probe against DSK Southern Projects Pvt. Ltd. and others.

The residential properties, located at Mantri DSK Pinnacle in Hulimavu village, Begur Hobli, Bengaluru, were officially handed over by the central agency on August 14. The restitution was executed in compliance with an order passed by the Supreme Court on July 16 under the second proviso to Section 8(8) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The money laundering investigation originated from First Information Reports registered by the Economic Offences Wing in Pune against Deepak Sakharam Kulkarni and other key individuals associated with the DSK Group. According to the agency's probe, funds collected from investors through allegedly fraudulent deposit schemes were systematically diverted and layered across various entities.

The total proceeds of crime in the case were evaluated by investigators at approximately Rs 1,129 crore. During the course of the ongoing probe, the ED issued a Provisional Attachment Order on February 14, 2019, attaching assets valued at around Rs 904 crore. The provisional attachment was later confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA.

The agency subsequently filed a prosecution complaint before the Special Court (PMLA) in Mumbai, which took cognisance of the matter. The handover of the Bengaluru properties to the resolution applicant marks the implementation of the Supreme Court's directives under the statutory framework governing restitution under the PMLA.