ED seizes assets worth over Rs 30 crore in LUCC scam raids in Mumbai, Bhopal

DEHRADUN: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has searched the Mumbai and Bhopal premises of alleged LUCC scam mastermind Sameer Agrawal and his associates, seizing assets and valuables worth over Rs 30 crore.

Key points

• Authorities additionally recovered Rs 1.53 crore in cash, foreign currency worth Rs 35.28 lakh, and gold and silver bullion valued at Rs 5.25 crore.
• The CBI took over 18 FIRs after the Nainital High Court ordered their transfer in 2025.
• The searches, conducted from August 13 to 16, led to the seizure of securities, mutual funds, LIC policies, bank balances and nine luxury vehicles, the ED remarked.
• The ED alleged that more than Rs 10, 000 crore was mobilised nationwide by promising bank-like safety and high returns.
• The probe stems fromFIRs registered in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states.

Notably, the searches, conducted from August 13 to 16, led to the seizure of securities, mutual funds, LIC policies, bank balances and nine luxury vehicles, the ED remarked.

Authorities additionally recovered Rs 1.53 crore in cash, foreign currency worth Rs 35.28 lakh, and gold and silver bullion valued at Rs 5.25 crore. The raids were part of the agency's money-laundering investigation into LUCC and allied cooperative societies.

For context, the probe stems fromFIRs registered in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states. According to the ED, depositors were lured from 2009 through fixed-deposit and monthly-income schemes floated by Agrawal's SAGA Group.

"Investors were promised that their money would double or triple within three to five years, " the agency remarked, adding that cars, houses and other expensive gifts were offered as inducements.

Meanwhile, the ED alleged that more than Rs 10, 000 crore was mobilised nationwide by promising bank-like safety and high returns.

Investigators alleged that initial payouts were created to gain investors' confidence before substantial sums were diverted for personal employ and agents' commissions. Much of the funds was allegedly collected in cash and routed through regional cash chests.

Notably, the agency suspects that more than 50 shell entities and hawala channels were applied to acquire properties in India and abroad.

According to the ED, Agrawal, chairman and managing director of the SAGA Group, operated the schemes before fleeing abroad with his wife, Sania Agrawal.

Meanwhile, the agency had earlier attached properties under two provisional attachment orders. It arrested Ravi Shankar Tiwari under the Prevention of Funds Laundering Act on July 14, 2026, and filed a prosecution complaint before a special court on July 24.

In a parallel investigation, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) chargesheeted 18 accused, including LUCC and Sameer Agrawal, in July in connection with an alleged Rs 800-crore scam involving almost one lakh investors in Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, the CBI took over 18 FIRs after the Nainital High Court ordered their transfer in 2025. After which unregulated investment schemes were allegedly operated through more than 50 branches in Uttarakhand, it alleged that LUCC, registered as a multi-state cooperative in 2012, came under Agrawal's control in 2016.

Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand administration has opened a portal for complaints from residents affected by the alleged fraud. According to investigators, LUCC collected regarding Rs 800 crore in the state through fixed and recurring deposit schemes promising high returns.

Taken together, the developments around ED seizes assets worth over Rs 30 crore in LUCC scam raids point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.