A 40-year-old Jabalpur real estate firm is at the centre of a major money laundering investigation — with a luxury flat in Lisbon and crores stashed in a foreign bank account.

The Enforcement Directorate's Bhopal unit carried out raids on Thursday at three locations linked to Rajul Group, a Jabalpur-based real estate company, in connection with a money laundering and illegal foreign remittance case. The searches have unearthed a web of clandestine financial transactions — including a flat purchased in Portugal, funds sitting in a Lisbon bank account, and over Rs 8.20 crore sent abroad without authorisation.

Cash worth approximately Rs 31 lakh was recovered from the premises during the raids.

The Portugal Connection — A Flat, a Rental Income and a Hidden Account

At the heart of this investigation is a flat purchased in Lisbon, Portugal by Priyank Mehta, linked to the Rajul Group. The property was bought for approximately 5.10 lakh euros — equivalent to around Rs 4.6 crore. Not only was the flat purchased using funds allegedly remitted illegally, but Mehta was also earning rental income from the property. Crucially, neither the foreign asset nor the rental income was declared in income tax filings — a serious violation of Indian tax and foreign exchange laws.

Further investigation revealed that approximately 4.20 lakh euros — around Rs 3.65 crore — were also separately remitted to Portugal. Additionally, Rs 2.1 crore remains deposited in a Lisbon bank account at the time of the raids.

Rs 8.20 Crore Sent Abroad Secretly — Via LRS and Other Routes

In total, the ED has found that the accused secretly transferred more than Rs 8.20 crore outside India through various channels. This includes approximately 5.48 lakh US dollars sent abroad under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) — a scheme designed for legitimate personal remittances but allegedly misused here to move funds overseas without proper disclosure.

The ED has flagged the transactions as suspicious foreign investments and potential violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Three Premises Raided — Documents Seized

The ED's Bhopal team conducted simultaneous searches at three locations connected to Rajul Group and its associates. Documents seized during the raids have provided crucial evidence about the extent of the illegal foreign transactions, the Portugal property, and the undisclosed foreign bank account. The agency is currently examining the paper trail to establish the full chain of money movement.

Who Is Rajul Group?

Rajul Builders is one of Jabalpur's older real estate firms, established in 1982. With over four decades of operations in the city's property market, the company had built a significant presence in Jabalpur's residential and commercial real estate sector. The ED action marks a dramatic turn for a firm that had operated without major regulatory scrutiny for most of its existence.

A Second ED Action in MP on the Same Day

The Rajul Group raids were not the only major ED action in Madhya Pradesh on Thursday. In a separate case, ED Bhopal arrested Kishan Modi, director of Jayshree Gayatri Food Products Private Limited, in connection with alleged fraud in dairy product exports. According to the ED, the company exported dairy products on the basis of fake laboratory test reports and earned approximately Rs 20.59 crore in foreign exchange through fraudulent means.

MP's Growing Money Laundering Problem

Back-to-back ED actions in Madhya Pradesh — from Jabalpur's real estate sector to a food export company — point to a growing and increasingly bold culture of financial crime in the state. The use of legitimate schemes like LRS to move black money abroad, the purchase of foreign properties without disclosure, and fake export documentation are all sophisticated financial crimes that cause serious harm to the national exchequer.

The ED's increasing assertiveness in MP sends a clear message: the era of hiding money in Lisbon while living in Jabalpur may be coming to an end.