Home Business Companies DHFL diverted Rs 12,773 cr to 79 companies through 1 lakh fictitious retail customers: ED

DHFL diverted Rs 12,773 cr to 79 companies through 1 lakh fictitious retail customers: ED

According to sources, the ED stumbled upon these allegedly fictitious retail customers and the ultimate beneficiary companies while inspecting the book of accounts of DHFL pertaining to Rs 2,186 crore loan given to five companies.

Earlier this week, the agency arrested Kapil Wadhawan, the promoter of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) for alleged money-laundering linked with properties belonging Mirchi.

THE ENFORCEMENT Directorate (ED) has found that till 2015 Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) recorded loans of about Rs 12,773 crore in its books allegedly to about 1 lakh fictitious retail customers, even as these loans were actually given to 79 companies allegedly associated with its promoters.

As per sources, the ED stumbled upon these allegedly fictitious retail customers and the ultimate beneficiary companies while inspecting the company’s book of accounts pertaining to Rs 2,186 crore loan given to five companies — Faith Realtors Pvt Ltd, Marvel Township Pvt Ltd, Able Realty Pvt Ltd, Poseidon Realty Pvt Ltd and Random Realtors Pvt Ltd — which were amalgamated with Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd in July 2019.

Sunblink has come under the scanner of the ED for buying three Worli-based properties — Rabiya Mansion, Sea View and Marium Lodge — allegedly belonging to the late gangster Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi for Rs 225 crore in 2010.

The ED claims at the time of the amalgamation of the five firms with Sunblink, a mortgage was created on the three Worli-based properties bought from Mirchi, showing a security of Rs 2,186 crore, claiming that the proceeds of crime are “interconnected”.

“It has come on record that the whole amount of Rs 1,500 crore was diverted to these five entities in 2011-2012 without any authority of law and in fact was illegally siphoned from DHFL in the garb of loan to individual customers (retail sector) for housing loan etc,” said the ED application before a special court, while seeking further custody of Kapil Wadhawan, the promoter of DHFL, who was arrested on Monday.

Wadhawan allegedly played a ‘crucial role’ in diverting funds from DHFL to shell companies, which were later amalgamated with Sunblink. “… The conduit of Sunblink was purposefully created by Kapil Wadhawan as CMD of DHFL and others just to obfuscate the trail of monies for purchase of properties from the Mirchis,” the ED claimed.

“It is further shocking to know that these companies during the material time were never appearing as creditors in the books of accounts of DHFL group. Thus the malaise is running deep and a rough estimate gives such illegal diversion of funds to 79 such shadowy entities in garb of retail loan to approximately 1 lakh fictitious individual customers to be in excess of Rs 12773 crore in 2015, to provide a justifiable alibi to huge diversions,” the ED said in court.

The ED also claimed that searches are on with assets linked to DHFL since Wednesday afternoon and certain digital evidence has come to light.

The Indian Express is awaiting a response from the company on the revelations of the ED.

The agency claims that Dheeraj Wadhawan, also a promoter of DHFL, expressed interest in buying the properties and after negotiations and meetings between him and Mirchi, it was decided that the properties would be bought through one of his companies — Sunblink.

Senior lawyer Amit Desai, representing Wadhawan, said DHFL had nothing to do with Mirchi, calling his arrest “abuse of power” by the ED. “According to their remand application’s content, the arrest is for a DHFL matter, which is not under probe here, on which there is no complaint filed,” Desai said. He added with regard to DHFL, an administrator has been appointed and a creditors’ committee has been constituted, pending before the National Company Law Tribunal. The Special Court sent Wadhawan to further ED custody till January 31.

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