The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday arrested Manoj Gaur, former managing director of Jaypee Infratech Limited, in a ₹12000-crore money laundering case.

He allegedly diverted and misused the money deposited by home buyers. The projects were launched in 2010-11 but most of the flats were either not constructed or remained incomplete till date.

The economic offences wing of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh police had filed cases against Jaypee Infratech and Jaiprakash Associates in 2017 after a series of protests by home buyers against the group. Later, a case was also registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, and the ED took over its inquiry.

Sources claimed that the ED had conducted raids at several places in Noida, Ghaziabad, Delhi and Mumbai in May this year and recovered about ₹1.7 crore in cash and some documents.

The ED found that of 32,691 units (flats), only 4,889 were completed and 27,802 were incomplete as of August. The company received over ₹14,599 crore from buyers but this money was transferred for some illegal purposes.

“The decision of fund transfer was taken by Gaur. He was arrested from Noida after an extensive inquiry. He was not cooperating in the inquiry and continuously trying to mislead the agency,” a home department source was quoted as saying in Lucknow.

The Jaypee group’s proprietors were considered close to Mayawati government between 2007 and 2012 and acquired lands for their real estate business during this period. The Opposition parties at that time had alleged that the company was funding the elections of the BSP. Mayawati never tried to clarify her stand.