3 promoters, ex-directors of Universal Buildwell held for money laundering

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested three promoters and former directors of M/s Universal Buildwell Private Limited in a money laundering case in Gurugram.

According to agency, the accused, identified as Raman Puri, Varun Puri and Vikram Puri, promoters and ex-directors of M/s Universal Buildwell Private Ltd were arrested on Tuesday. They had been absconding from court summons for over seven years and were declared proclaimed offenders by several courts in predicate matters. They were subsequently apprehended by the Delhi Police. The accused were produced before the Special Court, Gurugram, on the strength of a production warrant issued by the court. They have been remanded to ED custody till July 29.

The case pertains to fraudulent mobilisation of funds of home buyers by the accused through Universal Buildwell Pvt Ltd on the basis of false promises of completing the project by 2010 and promising assured returns in commercial projects. The accused are also accused of defrauding various financial institutions through forgery and fraud. Apart from this, the accused are accused of entering into fake agreements for their personal gain.

“In this case, the data collected revealed that the company, through its accused promoters, had acquired eight different projects in Gurugram and Faridabad namely Universal Trade Tower, Universal Greens, Universal Business Park, Aura, Universal Square, Market Square, The Pavilion and Universal Prime, built by raising over Rs 1,000 crore over 12 years and using only partial funds. Apart from this, the accused are charged with criminal misappropriation, cheating, forgery and embezzlement of money to acquire properties for their personal gain through fraud. ED is now questioning the accused,” said an official of ED, Gurugram.

The ED has initiated the investigation against M/s Universal Buildwell Pvt Ltd on the basis of more than 30 FIRs registered in Delhi-NCR under various sections of the IPC. Raman Puri, Vikram Puri and Varun Puri have been accused of not completing the real estate projects on time and defrauding the buyers of their hard-earned money.