The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached immovable properties worth approximately Rs 158.37 crore in connection with its ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering by Rockland Hospitals Limited and its promoters. The attachment is a result of an investigation initiated based on a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) before the Special Court (Companies Act), Dwarka, New Delhi, on January 31, 2020. The SFIO had alleged large-scale financial irregularities in Rockland Hospitals, prompting parallel enquiries that ultimately led to the ED probe.
The agency’s investigation found that the promoters siphoned off company funds through two main methods. Firstly, fake implant invoices amounting to Rs 76.03 crore were allegedly generated through 71 companies. Secondly, the hospital’s construction costs were inflated by Rs 82.34 crore through a related entity, Somya Constructions Private Limited.
The ED has quantified the total proceeds of crime at Rs 158.37 crore, which is the sum of the fake implant invoices and the inflated construction costs. The agency further alleged that the accused used accommodation entry operators and shell entities to conceal the origin of the funds and to project them as untainted. Pursuant to these findings, the agency invoked its powers under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to provisionally attach immovable properties valued at the identified proceeds of crime.
Representatives of Rockland Hospitals and the accused parties could not immediately be reached for comment. The company previously denied wrongdoing in related proceedings, and its legal representatives have contested several allegations in civil and criminal proceedings, according to court records.
