ED Arrests Ozone Urbana CMD S Vasudevan in Rs 927 Crore Bengaluru Homebuyer Fraud
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested S. Vasudevan, Chairman and Managing Director of real estate firm Ozone Urbana Infra Developers, in Bengaluru in connection with an alleged Rs 927.22 crore money laundering case involving cheated homebuyers.
Vasudevan, who is the company's main promoter, was taken into custody on September 30 under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Following his arrest, a special PMLA court in Bengaluru on Thursday granted the central agency 14 days of custody to interrogate him further regarding the financial dealings.
According to the Enforcement Directorate, Ozone Urbana and Vasudevan defrauded apartment buyers of Rs 927.22 crore by failing to hand over completed flats or return their initial deposits. The company had enticed buyers with assurances that it would pay their pre-construction equated monthly instalments until flat possession was delivered. However, the developer failed to honour the EMI payments and left the housing projects unfinished.
The agency stated that the firm diverted and misappropriated the upfront booking amounts along with the loan funds obtained for the projects. The federal investigation originated from multiple first information reports registered across various police stations in Bengaluru under Indian Penal Code sections 419 for cheating by impersonation, 420 for cheating, and 120B for criminal conspiracy. In addition, the Central Bureau of Investigation had registered a case against the developer and its promoter following directions from the Supreme Court.
Earlier in the investigation, the agency carried out searches at multiple premises connected to the developer on August 1, 2025, during which officials seized several incriminating documents. Later, on October 4, 2025, the ED provisionally attached immovable properties valued at Rs 423.378 crore linked to the real estate group.
The agency has also launched a parallel money laundering probe based on three separate CBI cases filed against Ozone Infra Developers, Ozone Realtors, and Ozone Projects, in all of which Vasudevan serves as a common director. Investigators said custodial questioning will focus on establishing how the alleged proceeds of crime were generated, layered, diverted, and utilised, as well as examining the role of group entities and intermediaries through whom funds were routed.
