In a significant development, a Gurugram city court has remanded Sikander Singh Chhoker, a director of Mahira Group, a prominent real estate firm, to five days’ custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Mahira Group money laundering case. Sikander is the son of Dharam Singh Chhoker, a Congress MLA from Samalkha.
The ED is investigating the Mahira Group money laundering case, focusing on allegations of diverting funds collected from homebuyers for a real estate project in Gurgaon. Sikander was arrested on Tuesday and presented before the court on Wednesday. The ED argued that five separate FIRs have been registered against him, and he was evasive during the investigation. The agency believes that his custodial interrogation is necessary to trace the money trail and uncover the involvement of other individuals.
Mahira Group had planned to construct approximately 1,500 houses on about 10 acres of land in Sector 68. The company collected around Rs 360 crore from homebuyers but failed to deliver the houses. The ED investigation revealed that over Rs 100 crore was siphoned off from homebuyers in the Mahira Group money laundering case.
Sikander’s counsel, Prashant Yadav, argued that his client had cooperated with the investigation, submitting records and documents on 37 occasions. He claimed that Sikander was arrested hastily to prevent him from seeking relief from the Supreme Court, as his father, co-accused Dharam Singh, had already filed a special leave petition.
Earlier in February, Sikander had approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court to halt the Mahira Group money laundering case investigation but was unsuccessful. The ED’s application stated that a case was registered in January 2021 against Sai Aaina Farms Pvt Ltd, now known as Mahira Infratech Pvt Ltd, and its directors for allegedly submitting fake bank guarantees to obtain a housing project license. Subsequently, the ED registered an FIR in November 2021 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
In May 2022, another FIR was filed against the company and its directors at Rajendra Park police station, with the ED also initiating a case. ED’s investigation revealed that the company siphoned off money by booking fake construction expenditures in group entities and receiving cash equivalents from these entities.
On Wednesday, Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge Subhas Mehla granted the ED five days’ custody of Sikander for further interrogation in the Mahira Group money laundering case.
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