ED attaches Alchemist, Ojas hospitals' shares worth Rs 127 crore in PMLA case

The attachment comes in connection with a money laundering investigation against the Alchemist Group

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally attached shares worth Rs 127.33 crore in two Panchkula-based hospitals -- Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital -- as part of an ongoing probe into large-scale financial fraud under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The shares in these hospitals are beneficially owned by Karan Deep Singh, son of Kanwar Deep Singh, and are held through M/s Sorus Agritech Pvt Ltd. As per the ED, Sorus Agritech owns 40.94 percent shares in Alchemist Hospital and 37.24 percent in Ojas Hospital.

The attachment comes in connection with a money laundering investigation against the Alchemist Group and its promoters, directors and associated entities, who are accused of defrauding investors by raising over Rs 1,848 crore through illegal collective investment schemes (CIS) with false promises of high returns or property allotments.

The ED initiated its probe following an FIR filed by Kolkata Police, later taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), ACB Lucknow, under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code.

According to the agency, the funds collected were siphoned off and layered through a web of financial transactions among group entities to conceal their illicit origin. The proceeds were then used to acquire shares and construct Alchemist and Ojas hospitals, thereby projecting the tainted funds as legitimate investments.

The case involves companies such as M/s Alchemist Township Pvt Ltd, M/s Alchemist Infra Realty Pvt Ltd, M/s Alchemist Holdings Ltd, and M/s Alchemist Township India Ltd. The ED stated that further investigation in the matter is underway.