Kolkata Police raid Sunland directors, Amit Gupta of Agrifields offices.
A new development in the high-profile Sunland Projects dispute in Kolkata has come into the spotlight.
The Alipore Police Court has issued and executed search warrants, raiding various locations in Kolkata across Ballygunge, Howrah, and Motilal Nehru Road, including the residences promoter Amit Gupta and the directors Vivek Agarwal, Dinesh Agarwal, Vishal Agarwal, Subhash Chandra Khandelwal, and Govind Prasad Malpani.
In the 18-page document, Alipore Police Court has authorized the police “to seize and take possession of any forged documents, forged stamps & seals, computer devices” amongst other things after ensuring that “every part and portion of the aforesaid office of the accused persons is needed to be searched thoroughly”, reads the official document.
Kolkata Police lodged an FIR on December 22nd, 2023, against Amit Gupta, the promoter of Agrifields DMCC, accusing him of “fraudulent share transfer” of 1,510,000 shares, “forging and manipulating records,” and “illegally striking off” a loan of Rs 9,95,64,143 from Sunland Projects Pvt Ltd.
Court documents, from the case lodged at Alipore Court, reveal procedural misconducts in the share transfer, which constituted 33.33% of the total shares of the company. The share transfer documents were not signed by the petitioner, was not registered in front of the Public Notary and the gift deed was not uploaded in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website. The case has been filed in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
This isn’t the first time Gupta is mentioned on the news. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, “The US documents name Getax director Amit Gupta as the ‘target of a criminal investigation who is alleged to have conspired with others to bribe foreign public officials and to have engaged in money laundering and other offences’.”
Sunland owns real estate across India. One of its projects, Sunland Residency in Rajharat, Kolkata, spreads over 54,000 square feet (1.24 acres). The company has assets exceeding 700 crore rupees, according to court documents.
Amit Gupta has not visited India since 2021, preferring to run his business from his base in Dubai. Whilst Gupta is currently the target of a criminal investigation in Australia and India, the complexity of his dealings gain further prominence amidst raids conducted by Kolkata Police.
Various government offices are scrutinizing his business dealings and financial affairs, including the Income Tax Department of India, which issued multiple income tax notices against Gupta and his family between 22nd March 2022 and 7th July 2022.
