New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed an FIR against Essel Group chairman and former Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra in a ‘fraud’ case that allegedly caused an over Rs 1,300 crore loss to LIC Housing Finance Limited.
These losses were caused to the public-sector NBFC (non-banking financial company) when Chandra’s companies ‘defaulted’ on two loans extended by LIC based on guarantees secured by Chandra’s net worth certificate in 2018.
In its complaint to the Banking Security and Fraud Cell of the agency, the public-sector NBFC submitted that it had extended loans of Rs 500 crore to two companies—Vasant Sagar Properties and Pan India Infraprojects—based on Chandra’s net worth certificate dated March 2018.
ThePrint tried reaching Chandra through phone calls, WhatsApp message and e-mail. This report will be updated when a response is received.
The complainant NBFC said it had sanctioned another loan of Rs 480 crore to two more companies—Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services and Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures —based on another net worth certificate issued by Chandra in August 2018.
LIC Home Finance submitted in the complaint that Chandra’s net worth certificate submitted in March 2018 showed his worth at around Rs 59,000 crore by 31 March 2017. Similarly, the second net worth certificate submitted in August that year showed his net worth at around Rs 40,000 crore—a far cry from the net worth declared by Chandra during the insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
During the insolvency proceedings, Chandra stated that his net worth in 2024 was around Rs 31 crore, the LIC Home Finance submitted in the complaint.
Both loan accounts turned out to be non-performing assets (NPAs), with overall liabilities of more than Rs 1,300 crore (including interest).
The development comes days after Chandra, a former Rajya Sabha MP, was granted a repayment plan by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) ) of Rs 6.5 crore in personal insolvency proceedings, against admitted claims of Rs 22,006.57 crore.
However, a newly constituted five-member bench of the NCLT barred Chandra from alienating any of his assets or properties during the pending proceedings.
Based on LIC Home Finance’s complaint, the CBI has also booked the directors of these firms under sections related to cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal conspiracy.
“Subhash Chandra had thus acted in collusion with the borrowers Vasant Sagar Properties Pvt. Ltd., Pan India Infraprojects Pvt. Ltd., Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd, and Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures Pvt. Ltd and (with) their officers and directors defrauded and cheated LICHFL into advancing the loans to the borrower entities, which have since misappropriated the same,” the NBCF alleged in its complaint to the CBI.
“He created false documents to denote inflated and false net worth to cheat LICHFL into deploying funds to the principal borrowers. The accused persons breached the trust reposed by LICHFL in misappropriating and misapplying the funds and stripping the assets of the personal guarantor to defeat recoveries by LICHFL,” it further alleged.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)