Daijiworld Media Network - Imphal
Imphal, Jan 1: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its action in a major financial fraud case in Manipur by issuing a second Provisional Attachment Order, freezing assets worth ?33.66 crore linked to two private companies, their director, and associated individuals, officials said on Thursday. The case pertains to an alleged large-scale cheating operation that reportedly duped nearly 5,000 investors across the state.
The attachment has been ordered against M/s Birla Emporium Pvt. Ltd., M/s Ira Finance Pvt. Ltd., their director Yumnam Irabanta Singh, and others by the ED’s Imphal Sub-Zonal Office. The investigation was initiated following multiple FIRs registered by the CID (Crime Branch), Manipur, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, accusing Singh of running an unauthorised deposit and investment scheme between 2019 and 2021.
According to the ED, the companies collected substantial sums of money from the public by promising unusually high returns. Instead of honouring these commitments, the funds were allegedly siphoned off by Singh and his associates. The agency estimates that around 5,000 investors were cheated, resulting in a collective loss exceeding Rs 250 crore.
Investigations further revealed that the firms were also engaged in lending money against property security. In several cases, properties pledged by borrowers were transferred and registered in the names of company directors and staff through sale deeds. When the companies abruptly shut operations in the first quarter of 2020, depositors neither received the promised returns nor the return of their principal amounts. Properties registered in the names of promoters were also allegedly retained unlawfully.
The ED stated that the misappropriated funds, identified as proceeds of crime, were used to acquire multiple movable and immovable assets. In an earlier phase of the probe, assets worth Rs 28.02 crore linked to the same entities and individuals had already been provisionally attached. A prosecution complaint seeking confiscation of those assets was filed before the Special PMLA Court in Imphal East on June 6, 2025.
Subsequent investigations led to the identification of 121 additional immovable properties, registered in the names of the two companies, their director, and associates, which were allegedly acquired using illicit funds. These properties, valued at Rs 33.66 crore, have now been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
With the latest action, the total value of assets attached in the case has risen to Rs 61.68 crore. The ED has said that further investigation is ongoing to trace additional proceeds of crime and identify other individuals involved in the alleged scam.