Update: Both parties have settled the case amicably. In an order dated November 14, 2019, the Delhi HC noted that both parties had settled the matter and asked police not to take any coercive against in the case.

GURUGRAM/NEW DELHI: Audi and Porsche dealers Rash Pal Singh Todd and Mandhir Singh Todd were arrested from Delhi airport early on Friday while they were waiting to fly out of the country after defaulting on a loan worth Rs 270 crore.The Todds are British nationals of Indian origin. Their Zenica Group owns Porsche Centre Gurugram, Audi Gurugram, Audi Delhi Central, Audi Approved Plus and Audi Service Gurugram, besides the iZenica chain of Apple showrooms.Rash Pal is a well-known face on the Delhi-Gurugram Page 3 circuit.The Delhi Police ’s economic offences wing arrested the duo after HDFC Bank filed a complaint of forgery and cheating against them on August 29.Balance sheet shows profits, but they claim losses for 4 yrsThe FIR names Zenica Cars India, Zenica Performance Cars Private Ltd, Rash Pal and Mandhir, who are directors of the companies, and group finance head Vaibhav Sharma.Auto industry sources said Zenica Group is the largest dealer of Audi and Porsche in India, earning more than Rs 500 crore from sales and service every year. It sells 140 Audi cars and 18-20 Porsche cars every month, on average, accounting for a fifth of Audi India’s total sales.When contacted, Audi India refused to comment on the matter.The complaint says the Todds, who live in South City-I, Gurugram, borrowed Rs 270 crore from a consortium of HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank , Canara Bank, J&K Bank and Volkswagen Finance starting March this year to purchase new cars, demo cars, used cars and spare parts. HDFC Bank alone lent them Rs 120 crore.They allegedly took the loan on the basis of balance sheets that showed profits, but in an email sent to HDFC Bank on August 28, they expressed their inability to repay the loan as they had suffered huge losses for the past four financial years.“It is clear that the accused, in order to obtain credit facilities, forged the documents on the basis of which a huge amount of credit was released,” said Sanjay Sharma, assistant vice-president of HDFC Bank, who filed the FIR on the bank’s behalf. He said the Todds had acted in “a well thought out and calculated manner” eyeing “wrongful gain to themselves.” Verification by a third party has confirmed that the submitted documents were forged.The Todds allegedly sold 32 demo cars bought with the loan and pocketed the money instead of repaying their lenders. Similarly, they cheated lenders after getting loans for for pre-owned cars. In 2006 also, UK media had reported that Rash Pal Singh Todd was linked to two car dealerships that went bust causing a loss of 76 jobs.An officer with EOW Delhi said the FIR has been registered under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), 471 ( forging document), and 120B (conspiracy) of IPC. Gurugram police commissioner K K Rao said a team of EOW Delhi had visited the company’s Golf Course Road office and car showrooms to gather documents.