India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen assets worth over Rs 153 crore linked to the former promoters of Universal Buildwell Private Limited and their close associates. The move targets alleged money laundering in stalled real estate projects that left thousands of homebuyers in the lurch.
The Gurugram office of the ED provisionally attached these properties under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on September 17, 2025. The seized assets include 29.45 acres of land in Behror and Kotputli, Rajasthan, several units in the Universal Trade Tower in Sector-49, Gurugram, and fixed deposits totaling Rs 3.16 crore.
Just two days later, on September 19, 2025, the ED filed a prosecution complaint in the Special PMLA Court in Gurugram. This names the arrested ex-promoters and other key figures as accused in the case.
The investigation kicked off after more than 30 First Information Reports (FIRs) surfaced across Delhi-NCR. They accuse Universal Buildwell and its promoters—Raman Puri, Vikram Puri, and Varun Puri—of delaying projects, cheating investors, and causing massive financial losses. The ED arrested the three promoters on July 22, 2025, and they’re now in judicial custody.
Universal Buildwell entered the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), leading to an approved resolution plan for homebuyers and other creditors. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed that some assets go directly to homebuyers as financial creditors, while others get sold off to settle debts.
But for many homebuyers who invested before 2010—often their life savings—the wait stretches over 15 years with no end in sight. Construction stopped around 2010 due to the promoters’ actions, and the resolution plan now requires buyers to pump in extra funds just to get their flats or office spaces. It could take even more time before they see possession.
ED officials say data from the resolution professional shows the company raked in more than Rs 1,000 crore over 12 years from eight projects in Gurugram and Faridabad. They used only a fraction for actual development and allegedly siphoned the rest through fraud, forgery, and cheating to buy personal lands and assets. The probe into this real estate scam continues.
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