CBI crackdown on builders in Kolkata, Bengaluru & Mumbai; searches at 12 locations

New Delhi, Sep 27 (IANS) In a major crackdown on builders accused of cheating thousands of homebuyers, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday registered six cases against real estate companies in Kolkata, Bengaluru and Mumbai, along with unknown officials of financial institutions, following directions of the Supreme Court. Searches were conducted at 12 premises across the three cities, during which “various incriminating documents and some digital electronic evidences have been seized”, the agency said.

The probe stems from petitions filed by aggrieved homebuyers before the Supreme Court, highlighting large-scale cheating by developers and coercive recovery measures by financial institutions.

The apex court had flagged the "unholy nexus" between builders and lenders through the controversial subvention scheme of home loans and, in April 2025, directed the CBI to initiate seven preliminary enquiries.

Accordingly, the CBI earlier filed 22 FIRs against builders in the National Capital Region (NCR), which are under investigation.

The present action follows the completion of the seventh enquiry covering projects outside NCR.

After reviewing the CBI’s status report, the Supreme Court directed the agency to convert its findings into six regular cases.

"Now, on completion of the seventh Preliminary Enquiry which was against various builders outside NCR, CBI has submitted the status report before the Supreme Court. Upon perusal of the report submitted by the CBI, the HSupreme Court directed CBI to register six Regular Cases against different builders in Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai and unknown officials of financial institutions," the agency said in its press statement.

"In compliance, CBI has registered six cases and conducted searches at twelve locations/places at Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai and Searches are still in progress," it further said.

The six named entities are: M/s Ithaca Estate Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru, M/s LGCL Urban Homes (India) LLP, Bengaluru, M/s Ozone Urbana Infra Developers Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru, M/s Shashwati Realty Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai (with projects in Bengaluru), M/s MKHS Housing LLP, Kolkata and M/s ACME Realities Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai.

The Supreme Court’s intervention followed mounting complaints nationwide that homebuyers were left in the lurch after developers failed to deliver projects, while banks continued to demand EMIs under the subvention model.

The CBI’s widening probe now aims to establish the extent of collusion between real estate firms and financial institutions.

--IANS

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