On February 18, 2026, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced it has provisionally attached 247 immovable properties worth ₹10,021.46 crore. This is linked to a ₹48,000 crore financial fraud case involving PACL Limited and its related entities. An ED official said, “This is probably the biggest attachment ever.” The properties, located in Punjab’s SAS Nagar, Rupnagar, Zirakpur, and Mohali, bring the total attachment value in the case to about ₹17,610 crore. This includes two assets in Australia valued at ₹462 crore attached in 2018. The action is under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), following a First Information Report (FIR) filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 19, 2014, as directed by the Supreme Court. The CBI has charged 33 accused, including companies and individuals. They reportedly ran an illegal collective investment scheme, raising funds from lakhs of investors across India with promises of agricultural land sales and development. The agency revealed, “Investors were induced to invest under Cash Down Payment and Instalment Payment Plans, and were made to sign misleading documents such as agreements, powers of attorney and other instruments. In most cases, land was never delivered, and about ₹48,000 crore remains unpaid to investors.” The scheme involved complex tactics like multiple front entities and reverse sale transactions to hide the fraud and make wrongful gains. After the FIR, on February 2, 2016, the Supreme Court asked SEBI to set up a committee led by former CJI Justice R. M. Lodha to sell PACL's land and return money to investors. However, further probes discovered ongoing illegal sales and misuse of land bought with investor funds. This led to three additional FIRs by Punjab Vigilance Bureau, Jaipur’s Jawahar Circle police, and Bengaluru’s Attibele police. The ED started investigating money laundering in 2016, filed a prosecution complaint in 2018, and followed up with three more complaints in 2022, 2025, and early 2026 against various accused. The special court has accepted these complaints and is handling the trial. This huge crackdown marks a significant step to recover investor money in one of India’s largest financial frauds.