Vatika Limited chairman-cum-managing director Anil Bhalla and promoter Gautam Bhalla have been remanded to four days of Enforcement Directorate custody in an alleged multi-crore plot allotment and money-laundering case involving residential projects in Gurugram. A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act court granted the remand on September 29 to allow investigators to examine the handling of investor funds and alleged property transactions.
Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge (PMLA) Narender Sura said the agency had established sufficient grounds for custodial interrogation. The court observed that once an Enforcement Case Information Report has been registered and a prima facie money-laundering case is found, the agency is required to trace the money and examine the alleged method by which proceeds of crime were generated and moved between entities.
The Enforcement Directorate had sought 10 days of custody to confront the two promoters with seized documents and banking trails. The court granted four days and directed that the accused be produced on October 2 at 3 pm. In a subsequent order, the court allowed family members to meet them during the designated visiting window and directed the investigating officer to ensure medical examinations, prescribed medicines and any medically advised special diet during the remand period.
The defence, represented by Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, opposed the remand and described the case as fabricated and unsupported by prima facie evidence. The defence argued that the transactions arose from commercial agreements between corporate entities dating from 2010 to 2014, while the police FIRs were registered in 2026 after a delay of more than a decade. It also submitted that Anil Bhalla had joined the investigation with the required records and that the accused were not flight risks. Vatika representatives declined to comment.
The probe began on March 9 from FIRs registered by the Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing under provisions relating to cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy. The complaints concern plot transactions in Vatika India Next, covering Sectors 82 to 85, and Vatika India Next-2 in Sector 88A. According to the ED, purchaser entities paid about Rs 260.30 crore between 2010 and 2012, with plot-wise buyer agreements executed in 2014 and 2015. The agency alleges that substantial portions of the contracted land remained undelivered even after 14 to 16 years.
In Vatika India Next-2, buyers allegedly paid around Rs 90 crore for approximately 1.10 lakh square yards, but no plot was handed over, according to the prosecution case. The ED said buyers discovered in July 2025 that revised zoning plans had removed the allotted plots after the land was redeveloped and sold to third parties. The agency has valued the allegedly undelivered plots at roughly Rs 140.73 crore.
A separate allegation relates to a January 2024 transaction involving Scaler Ventures Business Solutions and 165 residential plots. Scaler allegedly paid Rs 473.18 crore of the agreed Rs 482.84 crore, including Rs 423.95 crore directly to lender Sammaan Capital, formerly Indiabulls Housing Finance, at Vatika’s instruction. The ED said Vatika later exercised a buy-back option for 15 plots but terminated the agreement and sold 14 of the remaining plots to third parties while arbitration proceedings were pending before the Delhi High Court.
The ED has currently quantified the alleged proceeds of crime at approximately Rs 154.36 crore. Its account analysis allegedly showed customer funds moving to promoter-linked entities, including Aspire Promoters, Lincoln Developers, Everlast Projects, Famousdwellers, Wang Investment and Finance, and Vatika Hotels. The agency also alleged that the wider group operated through about 22 land-owning companies without employees or independent commercial activity.
Searches at seven premises on August 25 resulted in the seizure of vehicles and jewellery and the freezing of bank accounts and fixed deposits, according to the remand records. The ED also told the court that the Bhalla family held substantial overseas assets, including a London residential property through a family trust. Separately, the Gurugram district administration froze Vatika bank accounts over allegedly unpaid dues of about Rs 80 crore ordered by the Haryana Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The court’s next scheduled milestone is the production of the two promoters on October 2.
