TMC MP K D Singh's firm allegedly launched the chit fund scheme "without the approval" of the SEBI.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized properties of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP K D Singh worth Rs 238 crore in connection with its money laundering probe into an alleged ponzi scam case pegged at over Rs 1,900 crore.

The properties seized by the ED included a resort in Kufri, a showroom in Chandigarh, properties in Panchkula and Haryana, and bank accounts.

The EDs probe against Singh and his firm Ms Alchemist Infra Realty Limited dates back to September 2016 when it filed a criminal case under the PMLA taking cognisance of a charge sheet filed against the company, its directors and others by market regulator SEBI.

It is alleged that the company launched an illegal collective investment scheme, also called a ponzi or chit fund scheme, and mobilised funds of about Rs 1,916 crore from the public in the years preceding 2015.

The firm allegedly launched the scheme "without the approval" of the SEBI and led to cheating of gullible investors.

In 2015, the firm had informed the SEBI that it had refunded Rs 1,077 crore after the market regulators investigation and had sought more time to restore the rest of the amount, which was turned down by the SEBI.

(With PTI inputs)