EOW arrests PACL director in Rs 49K crore investment scam

LUCKNOW: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has apprehended Gurjant Singh Gill, director of Pearls Agro-tech Corporation Ltd (PACL), in Mohali, Punjab, as part of its ongoing “Operation Shikanja” to bring perpetrators to justice.

According to DG EOW Neera Rawat, the company, with branches across 10 states, allegedly amassed around Rs 49,000 crore from investors through a massive investment scam, promising plots and other benefits that were never delivered.A case against PACL was registered on Oct 25, 2011, with the Registrar of Companies (ROC) in Rajasthan. The corporate office of the company is located on Barakhamba Road, New Delhi. Under Gill, the company expanded its operations across 10 Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.The company commenced banking operations without registering as a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) under Section 45 of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. In Uttar Pradesh, branches were established in Mahoba, Sultanpur, Farrukhabad and Jalaun. The company attracted the public by promoting lucrative schemes, promising plots of land in exchange for substantial deposits in the form of recurring and fixed deposits.

Bond receipts were issued to the investors as proof of their investments.Through its branches across 10 states, the company amassed approximately Rs 49,000 crore from investors. However, the promised plots or other benefits were neither delivered nor were the invested funds returned to the people.The Uttar Pradesh govt assigned the investigation to the EOW after allegations of embezzlement by the directors of the PACL branch in Jalaun surfaced. Following a thorough investigation, a case was filed at EOW Police Station, Kanpur. The charges include sections 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).