Chennai, Oct 30 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has provisionally attached 517 immovable properties (with guideline value of Rs 98 crore and market value of about Rs 200 crore) belonging to two Madurai-based granite firms and related persons for money laundering.

The properties of M.R. Granites, R.R. Granites and others were attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA), the ED said in a statement issued here.

The ED said it had identified about 517 immovable properties acquired by suspected persons in their names and also in the names of their family members.

According to ED, in 2013, five first information reports were registered by the police against Madurai Granite Exports, M.R. Granites and R.R. Granites and their proprietors or partners.

The ED said chargesheets were filed by police alleging illegal quarrying of multi-coloured granites at Melur, Keelavalavu, Rasipuram and other places in and around Madurai by the accused, with a common object to trespass into the nearby government lands.

"It was estimated that the loss to the government exchequer and the consequent illegal gain to the accused there in was about Rs 450 crore in this case," ED said.