ED restitutes flats to homebuyers in Syndicate Bank fraud case in Udaipur

The Jaipur regional office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has returned flats, commercial units and plots with a current market value of Rs 175 crore to 213 innocent homebuyers in Udaipur who were caught in a Rs 1,267.79 crore fraud case involving a leading bank and were unable to get the residential units.

The inventory consists of 354 flats, 17 commercial units and two plots in Project Royal Rajvilas in Udaipur. The case relates to the Syndicate Bank scam involving Bharat Bomb and others, who defrauded the bank of Rs 1,267.79 million from 2011 to 2016 through discounting fake checks and fake internal bills and taking out loans against fake insurance policies.

The agency has seized a total property worth ₹ 535 crore after launching an investigation in 2016 based on three FIRs and a charge sheet lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation, an ED spokesperson said in Jaipur on Tuesday (October 14, 2025). Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the plugin on forums.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, admitted corporate debtor Udaipur World Entertainment Private Limited into the corporate insolvency resolution process after homebuyers filed a petition under Chapter 7 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. In 2022, the NCLT approved the company’s resolution plan and set aside the ED’s attachment order.

Later, the Rajasthan High Court stayed the implementation of the 2023 order of the NCLT on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction to set aside the order passed by the Adjudicating Authority under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The matter was taken to the Supreme Court, which directed both parties to compromise to protect the interests of well-intentioned home buyers who invested money in the project but could not get their flats. The spokesman said the ED was taking a “proactive approach” for the benefit of homebuyers suffering from lengthy litigation.

The Supreme Court lauded ED’s efforts to restore the attached properties and secure the interests of genuine and innocent home buyers. The upper court recorded its appreciation in a decision made on October 10. ED has adopted procedures to identify justified claimants, verify their claims, and expedite the return of compensation without compromising due diligence.