The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested three individuals linked to a suspected real estate scam involving Universal Buildwell Private Limited.
The arrested persons are Raman Puri, Varun Puri, and Vikram Puri. They are founders and former directors of the company. The ED states that these men had been avoiding court notices for over seven years. They were declared proclaimed offenders by different courts in related cases. The police in Delhi eventually caught them.
The ED’s probe relies on more than 30 FIRs filed against Universal Buildwell and its affiliates. These reports accuse the firm of not completing several housing projects on time. They also claim the company cheated homebuyers and investors out of their money.
The firm was taken to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process. The tribunal approved a plan to settle the issue. Some assets were ordered to be given to homebuyers. Any remaining property was to be sold off.
Most homebuyers had invested before 2010. The ED says the company and its leaders misused funds from investors. They falsely promised to finish projects by 2010. They also claimed to give guaranteed returns on commercial projects.
According to the agency, the resolution professional’s data shows that over 12 years, the promoters took more than ₹1,000 crore from investors. The money was raised across eight projects in Gurugram and Faridabad.
The projects include Universal Trade Tower, Universal Greens, Universal Business Park, Aura, Universal Square, Market Square, The Pavilion, and Universal Prime. The ED alleges only part of the funds was used for building and development. The rest was diverted. The accused used the money to buy land and assets for personal gain.