Mumbai: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai police has registered a fresh case against builder Sanjay Chhabria and DHFL’s promoter Kapil Wadhwan for allegedly cheating a real estate firm to the tune of ₹150 crore. Chhabria’s firm Indo Global Soft Solutions Private Limited in connivance with Wadhwan’s DHFL allegedly misused ₹150 crore for wrongful gain.
The money was meant to be utilized for a redevelopment project in Mahalaxmi but due to their alleged misappropriation of funds, the project is still lying uncompleted, EOW has claimed. This is the third case of EOW against Chhabria, who was arrested by CBI in April in the Yes Bank-Rana Kapoor case.
Joint commissioner of police, EOW, Pravin Padwal, confirmed that a fresh case has been registered against Chhabria.
The Banking-2 unit of the EOW recently booked Chhabria, Wadhwan and two other accused under sections 420 (cheating), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (Criminal breach of trust by a public servant, or by banker, merchant or agent) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of Indian Penal Code.
They have been booked on the complaint of Hifzur Rehman Kadiwal, 59, director of Nilkamal Realtors Tower Private Limited, which is in the real estate business and has an office in Mahalaxmi. Infrastructure Leasing and Finance Services (ILFS) is a shareholder in the company.
The complainant company Nilkamal Realtors Tower Private Limited is developing a redevelopment project in Mahalaxmi; DB Heights (now One Mahalaxmi). The project was earlier managed by ILFS, which had mortgaged the project with Yes Bank and had availed a loan of ₹350 crore at the interest rate of 13.25% for the benefit of the project. An agreement was also signed for the same in August 2013.
The said project was supposed to be completed by 2016-17, but due to internal disputes and controversies of ILFS, the project got delayed and could not be completed by ILFS, states the complainant in the FIR (of which a copy is with HT).
Chhabria’s company Indo Global Soft Solutions Private Limited, which is a group company of Chhabria’s Radius group, took advantage of this situation. Chhabria contacted Indo Global Soft Solutions Private Limited and offered to complete the incomplete redevelopment project by claiming they are capable of completing such projects.
In June 2017 ‘Development Management Agreement’ was signed between the complainant company and Indo Global Soft Solutions Private Limited mentioning all things the ‘development manager’ (the accused company) was supposed to do ranging from raising funds for the project, repaying loans taken for the project and to complete the project, etc., the police said.
Chhabria had allegedly assured the complainant company that his company would take a loan from DHFL at an interest rate much less than the Yes Bank, from which the complainant company had earlier taken the loan. Chhabria had also assured that they would take this loan on their responsibility and they would make an entry of the same in their own company’s books of account.
The ‘development manager’ (the accused company) informed the complainant company that they would take a loan of ₹700 crore from DHFL at an interest rate of 15% and it would be the complainant company’s responsibility to repay the loan. The accused company managed to convince the complainant company that the interest rate of the loan is less than other banks, the complainant told EOW.
The development manager company gave ₹608.08 crore to the complainant company from the money it had taken from DHFL for developing the project. Later the development management company asked the complainant company to take entry of the loan in their books of account as some error has occurred.
“While taking entry of the loan in their book of accounts the complainant company discovered that the actual loan amount has increased from ₹700 to ₹850 crore. When the development management company was asked if the additional ₹150 crore were utilized in the project, they did not respond, thus causing trouble to the project ‘One Mahalaxmi’,” states FIR.
The complainant alleged in the statement given before EOW that the development management company and Chhabria handed over the incomplete project in the same state when it was handed over to them.
The complainant alleged that the Chhabria in connivance with DHFL misused ₹150 crore which was taken in the name of a loan for the project, but did not use it for the same. DHFL, which had sanctioned the loan by keeping the project as mortgaged, was supposed to inform the complainant company about the same, but they did not do so, the complaint said.
₹150 crore loan money was not given to the complainant company for the project which caused trouble for the project. Because of this, all the money put in by the complainant company in the project is also stuck in the project. Hence, the Indo Global Soft Solutions Private Limited and DHFL caused wrongful loss to the complainant company. The complainant company has now lodged a police complaint regarding the financial fraud, states an EOW officer.
This is the third FIR against Chhabria by the EOW. Earlier it registered two FIRs against builder Sanjay Chhabria for allegedly defrauding Yes Bank to the tune of nearly ₹122 crore.
CBI had in April arrested him in connection with Yes Bank and DHFL (Dewan Housing Financial Limited) scam. The central agency had also conducted raids on premises linked to the Radius Group in Mumbai and Pune. The CBI sources said Radius group had borrowed the loan from DHFL for a residential project in the western suburbs of Mumbai and allegedly had an outstanding loan with interest of around ₹3000 crore.
Kapil Wadhwan too was arrested in the same case. Currently, he is in judicial custody.
BOX
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday obtained custody of Sanjay Chhabria, MD Radius group in connection with the money laundering probe. Chhabria was first arrested by CBI in connection with Yes Bank and DHFL scam. ED while seeking custody today said that the loan amount was used to repay his old liabilities and not for the projects for which it was taken. The court has remanded Chhabariaa to ED custody till Friday, June 17.