New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted nationwide searches Thursday in an on-going investigation into the DHFL loan scam, and recovered paintings and watches worth crores.
The agency is probing irregularities that led to the alleged loss of Rs 34,615 crore to a consortium of 17 banks led by the Union Bank of India.
The agency, sources said, searched 11 locations across the country at premises associated with the accused.
The CBI recovered two watches of Jacob & Co & Franck Muller Geneve worth Rs 5 crore; a painting by F.N. Souza (1964) and another by S.H. Raza (1956) worth Rs 5.50 crore and gold and diamond jewelry including bangles and necklace worth Rs 2 crore, a CBI press release said.
It is alleged that the promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) acquired the expensive items from diverted funds.
The CBI statement further mentioned: “During investigation, then CMD & then Director, both of private company based at Mumbai were arrested and both are presently in CBI custody.”
What is the DHFL case
The CBI has booked DHFL and its directors Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan — among the 13 accused — for allegedly defrauding 17 banks of Rs 34,615 crore. This is the biggest case of bank fraud registered ever by the agency.
DHFL promoters, including the Wadhawan brothers, are already under investigation by both the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a case of alleged fraud involving Yes Bank.
The Print had reported how Dheeraj Wadhawan, arrested two years ago in connection with the Yes Bank money laundering case, has spent more time in a luxury hospital than behind bars.
A fresh case was registered on 20 June 2022 after the Union Bank of India complained against the Mumbai-based company.
“According to the UBI complaint, since 2010, the DHFL has extended credit facilities of over Rs 42,000 crore by the consortium of which Rs 34,615 crore remain outstanding. The loan was declared NPA in 2019 and fraud in 2020,” reported The Indian Express.
The report further said a forensic audit into DHFL’s loans — conducted by accounting firm KPMG in 2020-21 — observed that “large amounts were disbursed as loans & advances by the borrower company to a number of inter-connected entities and individuals with commonalities to DHFL Promoter Entities, which were used for purchase of shares/debentures.”
According to the KPMG report, most of the transactions of such entities and individuals were in the nature of investments in land and properties.
Apart from the Wadhwans, the CBI has booked Sudhakar Shetty of Suhana Group and 10 other real estate companies.
Further investigation is continuing, the CBI press release said.
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