New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) can attach assets from an ostensibly legal business transaction, such as a share sale, if the original asset was obtained through fraud or any other criminal activity. The Delhi High Court ruling Monday upheld an ED attachment order of more than Rs 122 crore, relating to the Chhattisgarh’s Fatehpur coal block case.

A legitimate transaction becomes tainted if it is based on misrepresentation and fraud, the Delhi High Court said, while pronouncing its judgment.

“Even if the share allotment on [a] preferential basis appears to be a ‘legal transaction’ in form, its foundation is inherently rooted in misrepresentation and fraud, underlying the core predicate offence, enabling the directorate to trace and connect such transactions to the proceeds of

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