The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has intensified its investigation into the Sahara Group, alleging that the organization illicitly disposed of assets acquired from public deposits through secret cash transactions. The ED's chargesheet, filed in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, accuses the Sahara Group of operating a Ponzi scheme where funds were mismanaged, liabilities shifted, and depositors suffered significant losses.

According to the ED, several properties of the Sahara Group, obtained through public deposits, were being secretly sold off through large cash transactions. Anil V Abraham and Jitendra Prasad Verma have been charged in connection with facilitating, coordinating, and executing these transactions in collusion with others. Both Abraham and Verma are currently in judicial custody.

The ED's investigation revealed that the Sahara Group was allegedly running a Ponzi scheme, manipulating accounts, coercing redeposits, denying maturity payments, and siphoning depositor money to create benami assets and fund personal use. The agency also alleges that the group continued collecting deposits despite financial difficulties and that assets were sold for partial cash payments, further denying rightful claims of depositors.

So far, the ED has issued four Provisional Attachment Orders, attaching benami lands of the Sahara Group and assets of others. This includes 707 acres of land in Amby Valley with a market value of ₹1,460 crore, 1,023 acres of land in Sahara Prime City worth ₹1,538 crore, and movable assets worth ₹14.75 crore belonging to the late Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy Sahara's daughter-in-law, Chandni Roy. Subrata Roy Sahara passed away in 2023.

The ED's money laundering probe stems from multiple FIRs registered under Sections 420 and 120B of the IPC against Sahara entities, including Humara India Credit Cooperative Society Ltd. Over 300 FIRs involve scheduled offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, alleging widespread cheating of depositors through forced re-deposits and denial of maturity payments.

The Supreme Court has permitted disbursal of funds to refund depositors of Sahara's cooperative societies. As of March 31, 2025, the Sahara Group had deposited around ₹16,138 crore in the refund account on the directions of the Supreme Court in the Sahara-SEBI matter. On September 12, 2025, the Supreme Court further permitted a fresh disbursal of another ₹5,000 crore to CRCS from the Sahara-SEBI account. Since July 2023, CRCS has disbursed ₹2,314 crore to nearly 13 lakh depositors, while Sahara expedited processing of claims, enabling refunds of over ₹5,000 crore to more than 27 lakh depositors by July 2025. Efforts are underway for refunding the remaining ₹19,533 crore lying in the Sahara-SEBI account to eligible depositors.

The ED has confirmed that further investigation into the role of senior Sahara officials, connected individuals, and cross-border transactions linked to money laundering is still in progress. The agency conducted fresh searches in multiple states, targeting premises linked to land and share transactions associated with the group.