The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took into custody a builder based in Mumbai on Wednesday, alleging his involvement in defrauding numerous buyers and investors of an amount exceeding Rs 50 crores in a project situated in the Oshiwara area. The individual in question, Vijay Machinder, identified as one of the directors of Ornate Spaces Private Limited, purportedly engaged with Arif Abubakar Shaikh, also known as Arif Bhaijaan, the brother-in-law of Chota Shakeel, a prominent figure associated with Dawood Ibrahim.
The alleged deception unfolded in two projects undertaken by Ornate Spaces Private Limited. In the first project, Growe Towers located in Oshiwara, multiple investors, including Rajendra Surana, the complainant in the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) case, invested Rs 45 crores for 14 flats that were reportedly never delivered. The second project involved the eviction of tenants from Abhudaya Park in Kalchowki, Central Mumbai.
Machinder is believed to have sought Chota Shakeel's assistance in obtaining allotment letters from previous buyers in the Growe Towers project, to sell them to new buyers at current rates in 2018. NIA investigations and witness statements indicate that Machinder was supposed to pay Rs 100 crores to the Dawood Ibrahim gang, negotiating with Arif Bhaijaan and his brother Shabbir, while also communicating with Chota Shakeel.
An alleged payment of Rs 16 crores in cash and providing Rs 5 crore worth of twenty cheque leaves is claimed to have transpired. The ED's actions stem from the 2021 EOW case filed against Machinder and his family members by Rajendra Surana, who, along with relatives, invested over Rs 45 crores in 2012 for 14 flats. However, Machinder reportedly failed to deliver the promised flats, leading to the filing of a case by Surana in 2021.
After extensive questioning, the ED arrested Machinder on Wednesday evening, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
