ED cracks down on ex-TMC MP’s son, seizes ₹127 crore in hospital shares in mega money laundering case

In a significant escalation of its probe into a massive financial fraud, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached shares worth ₹127.33 crore allegedly held by Karan Deep Singh, son of former Trinamool Congress MP and businessman Kanwar Deep Singh. The shares are linked to two high-profile hospitals — Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital — in Panchkula, Haryana.

The latest action brings the total value of provisionally attached assets in the case to ₹238.42 crore, spread across five separate orders, as the ED deepens its investigation into what it describes as a “large-scale criminal conspiracy” involving the Alchemist Group and its network of directors and promoters.

According to a press release issued by the ED’s Delhi zonal office, the money laundering investigation stems from multiple FIRs originally filed by the Kolkata Police and later taken up by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau in Lucknow. The agencies booked the Alchemist Township, Alchemist Infra Realty, and their directors, including Kanwar Deep Singh, under Sections 120B and 420 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal conspiracy and cheating.

“The case pertains to a large-scale criminal conspiracy to defraud investors by illegally raising funds through fraudulent Collective Investment Schemes (CIS), offering unusually high returns, and making false promises of allotting plots, flats, and villas,” the ED said. Through these deceptive investment vehicles, entities including Alchemist Holdings Ltd. and Alchemist Township India Ltd. allegedly amassed approximately ₹1,848 crore from thousands of unsuspecting investors, the agency added.

ED officials allege that these funds were systematically diverted through complex layers of shell companies and group entities, ultimately funneled into acquiring equity and constructing healthcare infrastructure—including Alchemist and Ojas Hospitals. Investigators believe this was done deliberately to launder illicit gains and disguise the tainted origin of the money.

According to ED, the shares of Alchemist Hospital and Ojas Hospital are currently held —40.94% and 37.24% respectively — by Sorus Agritech, a firm allegedly beneficially owned by Karan Deep Singh.

“The transactions were deliberately structured to project these assets as legitimate, thereby disguising the proceeds of crime,” the ED said.

Kanwar Deep Singh, the key accused in the case, was arrested by the ED on January 12, 2021. The agency filed its first prosecution complaint before a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in New Delhi on March 2, 2021, followed by a supplementary complaint most recently on July 19, 2024.

Officials suggest that further attachments and arrests may follow as the agency continues to unravel the financial web linked to one of the country’s most elaborate real estate investment frauds.