CBI seizes Rs 40 crore work from homes of Wadhawan brothers

The CBI has seized work price over Rs 40 crore throughout contemporary searches on the residences alleged associates of Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan of the Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL). The searches had been performed in reference to the CBI’s probe into alleged mortgage fraud of Rs 34,615 crore by DHFL.

Sources mentioned the work recovered embody these by Tyeb Mehta and Manjit Bawa amongst others.

“During investigation, it was found that the promoters had allegedly diverted the funds and made investments in various entities. It was also alleged that the promoters had acquired expensive paintings and sculptures worth about Rs 55 crore using the diverted funds,” CBI mentioned.

The searches had been performed on the premises of Rebecca Dewan and Ajay Ramesh Nawandar in Mumbai and Dewan Villa, Mahabaleshwar, which led to restoration of huge variety of work and sculptures, some money and different incriminating paperwork, the CBI claimed.

CBI sources mentioned each are shut aides of Wadhawans.

“The value of these artworks is estimated to be around Rs 40 crore, as per initial estimates,” it mentioned.

Last month, the CBI had booked 13 individuals, together with Wadhawans, for defrauding a consortium of 17 banks of over Rs 34,000 crore, making it the biggest-ever mortgage fraud within the nation. Until now, the Nirav Modi-led PNB mortgage fraud (13,000 crore) and ABG Shipyard mortgage fraud (Rs 20,000 crore) had been thought of to be the most important.

The CBI case has been registered on a grievance from the Union Bank of India (UBI), which is the lead financial institution within the consortium. According to UBI grievance, since 2010, DHFL was prolonged credit score amenities of over Rs 42,000 crore by the consortium of which Rs 34,615 crore stay excellent. The mortgage was declared NPA in 2019 and fraud in 2020.

A forensic audit performed by KPMG in 2020-21 of DHFL mortgage accounts noticed 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”, the UBI grievance has mentioned elaborating on the fraud.

According to the KPMG report, a lot of the transactions of such entities/people had been within the nature of investments in land/properties.

Apart from Wadhwans, the CBI has booked Sudhakar Shetty of Suhana Group and 10 different actual property firms.

UBI has alleged that the KPMG audit signifies “significant financial irregularities, diversion of funds through related parties, fabrication of books to show fraudulent nonexistent retail loans, round tripping of funds and utilisation of diverted amounts for creation of assets by Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Rajesh Kumar Wadhawan and their associates”.

According to the KPMG experiences, as many as 66 entities, which had been associated to DHFL and the Wadhawans had been superior loans to tune of practically Rs 30,000 crore by flouting all norms.

Of these 65 entities, Kapil Wadhawan alone managed about 40 by means of appointing administrators and auditors, dealing with earnings tax notices, sustaining secretarial data of those entities and managing total management over funds of those firms, the CBI FIR has alleged.

DHFL defaulted on its debt fee obligations from May 2019 onwards.