The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached an immovable property spread over approximately 14.51 acres in Kolkata valued at Rs 85.20 crore, in connection with a bank fraud and money laundering case involving M/s Unity Infraprojects Ltd. (UIL) and others, the agency said on Friday.

According to the ED, the attached land, located at Mouza Chakgaria in Kolkata, is held in the name of M/s Suburban Agriculture Dairy & Fisheries Pvt. Ltd. (SADAFPL). The attachment was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The money laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered by the CBI’s Bank Securities & Fraud Branch in Mumbai on a complaint lodged by the State Bank of India.

The FIR alleges that UIL, in connivance with its promoters, directors and associated entities, defrauded a consortium of 23 banks by availing credit facilities of around Rs 3,200 crore. The total outstanding dues, including interest, are estimated at approximately Rs 3,800 crore.

According to investigators, the fraud involved fictitious transactions, round-tripping of funds, manipulation of financial records, and diversion of funds through shell entities.

The ED said its probe revealed that funds from UIL were routed through its wholly owned subsidiary, Unity Realty & Developers Ltd. (URDL), and subsequently used to acquire and hold assets through associated companies. SADAFPL was identified as a step-down subsidiary of UIL through URDL.

Further investigations established a trail linking the Chakgaria land parcel to funds originating from UIL and its group entities, indicating diversion and layering of proceeds generated from the scheduled offences. The property was attached under Section 5(1) of the PMLA to prevent its transfer or disposal pending confiscation proceedings.

The agency noted that in July 2025 it had conducted searches at residential and commercial premises, as well as bank lockers, linked to UIL, its former directors and their family members. During those operations, movable assets worth Rs 31.21 crore were seized or frozen.

The ED had also attached land parcels and flats valued at about Rs 1,493 crore through three separate provisional attachment orders, all of which were later confirmed by the Adjudicating Authority under the PMLA.

With the latest attachment, the total value of movable and immovable assets attached or frozen in the case has risen to about Rs 1,609 crore, the agency said.

The ED further informed that it filed a prosecution complaint before the Designated Special Court, City Civil and Sessions Court, Greater Bombay, Mumbai, on March 27, 2026.

Further investigation is underway.

MNS Chief Raj Thackeray on Friday demanded an impartial probe in the controversial Rs 500 crore audio clip row that has stirred the political landscape of Maharashtra in the last few days.

The controversy came to light after Maratha activist Manoj Jarange Patil played an audio clip during a press conference, claiming that he was offered Rs 500 crore by Shiv Sena through MP Shrikant Shinde.

The Shiv Sena Shinde faction responded, saying that this was a plot to defame Eknath Shinde. “The people speaking in the clip belong to the BJP,” Shiva Sena said. However, the BJP has also demanded an inquiry to verify the audio clip’s authenticity.

While speaking to the media, Raj Thackeray on Friday said that the question is not about the Rs 500 crore mentioned in the clip, but the real question is how the planning is being executed.

“There is an attempt to defame a person like Manoj Jarange Patil. Taking someone along, defaming them later, and breaking their support system- what is going on?” he said.

Thackeray further stated, “We also know who the speakers in this clip are. They should think about this. When power goes away, they have no idea which things will come back to haunt them. The third and most important question is: where did this clip actually come from?”

Criticising the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ response, Thackeray remarked that he attempted to buy time by stating he had called for a forensic report. “Forensic reports are typically sought to verify the authenticity of audio or video evidence in serious crimes like murder, rape, and financial scams. In truth, listening to the conversation makes it clear that this is nothing short of the murder and rape of democracy,” he stated.

He added that it is fortunate the Chief Minister acknowledged the gravity of the statements and the need for an investigation.

However, Thackeray challenged the CM, saying, “If you were completely unaware of what was being discussed, you need to look into what has been operating right behind your back.” Addressing the Chief Minister’s observation that the clip is likely two years old and questioning the timing of its release, Thackeray pointed out that how and by whom the clip leaked points directly to internal “power plays and factional politics” within the government.

“Do not trap Maharashtra in a maze of technicalities and forensic reports. Maharashtra has understood what it needed to understand. You acknowledge the gravity of it; now, as Chief Minister, demonstrate to Maharashtra just how impartial you are and what action you take. Only then will this forensic report have any meaning; otherwise, it will just look like a forensic report bent to suit your convenience,” Thackeray warned.

Meanwhile, following a meeting with MNS office-bearers, Thackeray informed that he will tour drought-affected areas after Diwali to review the water scarcity situation. Pointing out the grim situation in the districts of Marathwada, he said that nothing will be achieved with the financial aid of Rs 5,000 provided by the government.

“If water planning is not done properly in Marathwada, there is a possibility that it will turn into a desert, and I have been speaking about this for a long time. However, this is not being considered,” he added.

Providing details, Thackeray stated that proper water planning is absent in Marathwada. Borewells are being dug illegally, licenses are being granted to beer factories, tap water is being sold, and water is being extracted from wells for illegal activities.

He appealed for strict planning in this regard. Currently, there is an urgent need for drinking and agricultural water. Therefore, consideration should be given to events like the Kumbh Mela and other religious programs, suggested Thackeray when asked about the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Nashik. The water crisis is going to escalate further.

The ED conducted search operations at half a dozen premises, including offices and residential properties, in Mumbai and Delhi and a farmhouse in Maharashtra in connection with the illegal receipt of foreign exchange from Dubai and Singapore by Mega Millennium Private Limited, an official said on Friday.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted the searches under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the official said in a statement.

Apart from inspecting digital devices and incriminating documents related to Mega Millennium Private Limited, the investigators also conducted searches at a farmhouse in Karjat, Maharashtra, the ED said.

Foreign currency, Indian currency and valuables worth several crores of rupees were also detected by the ED during the search operation, said an official.

The focus of the ED’s search operation was on Harish Dedhiya, a Mumbai-based consultant and director of the company, the statement said.

The company and its directors, including Dedhiya and his wife Dhara Dedhiya, have received large sums of foreign exchange from suspicious companies based in Dubai and Singapore, the ED said.

The ED investigation indicated that Dedhiya incorporated companies by appointing his own employees/dummies as Directors. Within a year of incorporation, these companies received hundreds of crores of rupees, which were layered through multiple shell entities, the ED said.

In a separate case in Maharashtra, the ED conducted search operations at 10 premises, including hospital/IVF centres, located in Thane, Baramati and Nashik and seized digital evidence and Rs 29 lakh in cash during the investigation in a human egg extraction racket, an official said.

The ED’s Mumbai Zonal Office-II conducted search operations on October 16 at the10 premises under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The ED investigation was initiated based on an FIR and a subsequent chargesheet filed by Badlapur (East) Police Station, Thane, Maharashtra, alleging offences of cheating and forgery under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and violations of the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021, and the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, by Manjusha Wankhede and 16 others, the ED said in a statement.

The case pertains to an organised network involved in recruiting financially vulnerable women for human egg donation and supplying them to various IVF centres and Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) banks through donor-supply agents operating under different proprietorship concerns, the agency said.