Chhabria's firm suspected to have cheated several car finance firms: Mumbai Police

MUMBAI: Car designer Dilip Chhabria's firm is suspected to have cheated several finance companies by obtaining loans fraudulently, the city police said on Tuesday.

The Crime Intelligence Unit (CIU) of the Mumbai crime branch arrested Chhabria on Monday evening.

The alleged scam came to light when the police seized a DC Avanti, a sports-car manufactured by Dilip Chhabria Design Pvt Ltd, in south Mumbai on a tip-off that its registration number was bogus.

The car's owner produced documents which were found to be genuine and showed that it was registered at Chennai.

However, another car with same engine and chassis number was found to be registered in Haryana, police said in a release.

Probe revealed that loans averaging Rs 42 lakh per car were availed by Dilip Chhabria Design Pvt Ltd for DC Avantis manufactured by it in the name of bogus customers, it said.

As many as 120 DC Avanti cars have been sold in India and abroad, and at least 90 of them were allegedly used for obtaining loans fraudulently.

The cars were on paper hypothecated to the finance firm but were already sold off to customers, the investigators claimed.

Various Non-Banking Finance Companies including BMW Financial Services were duped in this way, police said.

The crime branch is now ascertaining the quantum of the loan fraud as well as the loss suffered by the government due to evasion of taxes, officials said.

Chhabria, known for selling cars with customised design, has been booked for cheating and forgery, among other charges.