ED arrests promoters of Earth Infrastructures Ltd. in home buyer fraud case

📌 Summary:

• Enforcement Directorate (ED) on June 2, 2026 arrested four promoters of Earth Infrastructures Ltd. — Avdhesh Kumar Goel, Rajnish Mittal, Atul Gupta, and Vikas Gupta — in an alleged home buyer fraud case
• Special Delhi court granted ED five days of custody after the accused were produced
• ED's probe is based on five FIRs filed by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police against the company, its directors and related entities, plus a separate criminal complaint by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO)
• Action taken under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 — diversion of homebuyer funds is treated as a scheduled "predicate offence" generating "proceeds of crime"
• Case highlights persistent real-estate fraud pattern: collecting money for housing projects, then diverting funds → no delivery → buyers stranded — same pattern that triggered RERA (2016) and IBC amendments giving homebuyers "financial creditor" status

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 — Money laundering, role of ED/SFIO; GS2 — Statutory bodies, consumer protection; Real-estate regulation under RERA; Insolvency framework for homebuyers under IBC.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• ED = Enforcement Directorate, under Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance; enforces FEMA, 1999 and PMLA, 2002
• SFIO = Serious Fraud Investigation Office, under Ministry of Corporate Affairs, statutory body under Companies Act, 2013
• PMLA = Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002; gives ED powers to attach properties (provisional attachment) and arrest
• RERA = Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 — protects homebuyers
• IBC Amendment 2018: Homebuyers classified as "financial creditors" — can move NCLT

🔑 Key Term: Proceeds of Crime — Any property derived or obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of criminal activity relating to a scheduled offence under PMLA, 2002; ED can provisionally attach such property and prosecute the holders.