The executives of the Mahira Group stole Rs 100 crore from customers; ED is investigating.

GURUGRAM: The directors of the Mahira Group, Samalakha MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker and his sons Sikander Singh and Vikas Chhoker, allegedly stole close to Rs 107.5 crore from roughly 1,500 homeowners in a low-cost housing project in Sector 68, the Enforcement Directorate claimed on Monday.

According to the investigation agency, the accused transferred loans to group firms from Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd, now known as Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd and owned by Samalakha lawmaker, totaling Rs 57 crore in fictitious expenses and Rs 50.5 crore in loans.

In accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002, the investigation agency carried out a series of searches at 11 locations on July 25 belonging to the Congress MLA and businesses “owned and controlled” by the group in Gurgaon, Panipat, and Delhi.

The Mahira Group’s directors and workers were not present during the searches, according to a statement from the ED, and they have not yet cooperated with their inquiry. It also stated that during the searches, four high-end vehicles valued at almost Rs 4 crore, jewelry worth Rs 14.5 lakh, cash worth Rs 4.5 lakh, and “evidence” relating to the diversion of homebuyers’ funds were seized.

After Gurgaon police filed an FIR accusing Sai Aaina Farms of forgery and fraud, the ED opened a probe into the matter. The company reportedly received roughly Rs 360 crore from 1,497 homeowners as part of the affordable housing program, according to the FIR.

The housing project, started in 2017 by Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd, was supposed to be finished in 2018. Homebuyers were left in the dark when DTCP canceled the Sai Aaina project’s license on May 9 alleging that the developer’s submissions of allegedly faked land documents, agreements, and bank guarantee documents.

Four further affordable housing projects that the organization started in Sectors 63, 95, 103, and 104 are still the subject of investigations into their financial transactions. All five of the affordable housing developments had forensic audits mandated by the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority last year.