ED attaches Rs 85.19 crore assets in Dream makers investment fraud case

Chennai: The Enforcement Directorate (ED)'s Chennai office on Saturday provisionally attached assets worth around Rs 85.19 crore in its money laundering investigation into Dream Makers Global Private Limited, which allegedly lured thousands of investors with promises of high daily returns and doubling their money within 150 days, officials said.

The attachment, made under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, covers movable and immovable assets linked to the alleged investment fraud.

The ED initiated its investigation on the basis of a case registered by the Tamil Nadu Police's Economic Offences Wing.

Investigators alleged that the company collected public deposits through investment packages purportedly linked to software projects.

According to the agency, initial payments helped attract more investors before the scheme defaulted, leaving depositors facing losses.

The investigation identified the company's late Managing Director, S. Sathish Kumar, Director Gunavathy and Manager Mugunthan Nair as key figures.

The ED alleged that promotional meetings and assurances of high returns were used to persuade people to invest.

On June 30, investigators searched eight locations in Coimbatore and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu, and Malappuram and Thrissur in Kerala.

Documents, diaries, digital records and details of properties were seized.

The central probe agency alleged that funds described as returns or commissions were used to acquire properties, vehicles and other personal assets.

Investigators also identified bank accounts, fixed deposits and financial instruments linked to the accused and their associates.

The action adds to the probe agency's investigations involving Tamil Nadu, spanning alleged investment fraud, cryptocurrency schemes and corruption.

Among its recent operations, the ED's Chennai Zonal Office-II searched 11 premises in Chennai, Coimbatore and Kolkata on September 1 in connection with the Hashpe cryptocurrency fraud case.

The searches were conducted under the PMLA.

Another prominent Tamil Nadu case concerns former Tamil Nadu Minister V. Senthil Balaji and alleged cash payments for jobs in state transport undertakings.

The ED filed its charge sheet against him in August 2023, following an investigation based on three Chennai Central Crime Branch FIRs.

The complaint concerned alleged recruitment-related money laundering during his tenure as the former Transport Minister.

That prosecution and the Hashpe investigation are separate from the Dream Makers proceedings.

In the Dream Makers case, the attachment remains provisional, the allegations centre on the collection and use of investors' deposits and assets allegedly acquired with those funds.

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