The latest auction notice published by the Justice (retd) R M Lodha committee to sell properties of  PACL (Pearl Agrotech Corporation Limited) embroiled in ₹49,000-crore land investment fraud includes a plot in Kerala. A notice of e-auction was published by the committee on Friday which includes properties in Haryana (Panipat, Panchkula), Andhra Pradesh (Guntur, Kadapaand Krishna), Karnataka (Chamrajnagar and Dakshina Kannada) and Kerala (Ernakulam).

In 2014, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), held that PACL Ltd had mobilised ₹49,100 crore from the investors in violation of provisions of the SEBI – Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) Regulations. It directed PACL to wind up its existing schemes and refund the money collected by it, along with returns due to the investors. As per the list of assets of PACL, there are 13 properties in Kerala spread across Ernakulam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Thrissur. Cherthala, Paravur and Mallappally are the places where PACL bought properties in Kerala. The extent of land in Kerala and the estimated value of it are not published in the latest notice.

In 2016, the Supreme Court directed SEBI to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of R M Lodha, former CJI, for disposing of the land purchased by PACL so that the sale proceeds can be paid to the investors. As on March 31, 2025, the committee has effected refunds in respect of 22,16,132 eligible applications with outstanding claim (principal) amount up to ₹20,000, aggregating to a total disbursal of ₹1,163.03 crore.

In July, the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of  Uttar Pradesh police arrested Gurnam Singh, the director of PACL, from Punjab in connection with the case. He faces charges of allegedly duping over 5 crore investors across 10 states, including Kerala. The fraud was orchestrated by promising investors huge returns for investing in pseudo real estate schemes.

The proposal was for investors to pay PACL for land under a scheme by which payments would be made by investors over time and, when  all  payments were made, PACL  would  transfer  ownership  of  the  land  to  the  investor, as per observations in a court order issued by the Federal Court of Australia. The CBI and Enforcement Directorate had  registered cases against PACL in the wake of complaints filed by the investors. ED investigation has revealed that funds collected by PACL were diverted to various entities.

During the probe, it was found that Harsatinder Pal Singh Hayer, a director in several associate companies of PACL, played a key role in illicit transfer and parking of funds amounting to ₹657.18 crore abroad. These proceeds of crime were used to purchase immovable properties in Australia, according to a statement by the ED.