The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday told a special court here that "a large number of accounts and shell companies owned and managed by" Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan were involved in the "diversion of loan funds and creation of assets ... for their own benefit".
The agency made the claim while seeking ten days of custodial interrogation of the Wadhawans in what has emerged as the country's biggest bank loan fraud. The agency last month booked DHFL, its former chairman and managing director Kapil Wadhawan and director Dheeraj Wadhawan among 14 entities and people on charges of cheating a consortium of 17 banks. The money involved is estimated at ₹34,615 crore.
Allowing eight days' remand, the court held that the "possibility" of involvement of public officials, if any in the scandal "cannot be ruled out". The court also held that there was "adequate nexus" between the acts of Wadhawans and diversion of public funds in conspiracy with the co-accused.
In its remand paper, seen by ET, the agency informed the court that the Wadhawan brothers "lent significant amount of loans ranging in hundreds of crores to different entities owned/controlled by different individuals including their own employees in the garb of corporate loans".
The Wadhawans "were involved in siphoning off public funds by way of sanctioning loans to different shell companies owned/controlled by them either directly or indirectly, through DHFL ... The records were falsified, and false projections were made about payments, etc., for inducing the bank to sanction and disburse loans to DHFL", it said.
It claimed that later on the money was diverted for their own personal gains and creation of assets in their own names and/or in the names of their family members/entities related to them. "Some of the funds were routed to foreign countries for creation of such assets," it added.
The CBI has alleged that the Wadhawans had remained evasive and noncooperative during questioning.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal appeared on behalf of Kapil Wadhawan and Rebecca Mammen John represented Dheeraj Wadhawan.
The CBI said the custodial interrogation of the Wadhawans was essential to ascertain their alleged modus operandi including for the inducement of banks, role of other persons involved with them, as well as to ascertain their investments abroad and any other investment which had not come to light till date. They also need to be confronted with the already collected evidence, digital evidence and other witnesses/suspects, such as Mumbai-based businessman Ajay Nawandar, it said.
The agency made the claim while seeking ten days of custodial interrogation of the Wadhawans in what has emerged as the country's biggest bank loan fraud. The agency last month booked DHFL, its former chairman and managing director Kapil Wadhawan and director Dheeraj Wadhawan among 14 entities and people on charges of cheating a consortium of 17 banks. The money involved is estimated at ₹34,615 crore.
Allowing eight days' remand, the court held that the "possibility" of involvement of public officials, if any in the scandal "cannot be ruled out". The court also held that there was "adequate nexus" between the acts of Wadhawans and diversion of public funds in conspiracy with the co-accused.
In its remand paper, seen by ET, the agency informed the court that the Wadhawan brothers "lent significant amount of loans ranging in hundreds of crores to different entities owned/controlled by different individuals including their own employees in the garb of corporate loans".
The Wadhawans "were involved in siphoning off public funds by way of sanctioning loans to different shell companies owned/controlled by them either directly or indirectly, through DHFL ... The records were falsified, and false projections were made about payments, etc., for inducing the bank to sanction and disburse loans to DHFL", it said.
It claimed that later on the money was diverted for their own personal gains and creation of assets in their own names and/or in the names of their family members/entities related to them. "Some of the funds were routed to foreign countries for creation of such assets," it added.
The CBI has alleged that the Wadhawans had remained evasive and noncooperative during questioning.
Advocate Vijay Aggarwal appeared on behalf of Kapil Wadhawan and Rebecca Mammen John represented Dheeraj Wadhawan.
The CBI said the custodial interrogation of the Wadhawans was essential to ascertain their alleged modus operandi including for the inducement of banks, role of other persons involved with them, as well as to ascertain their investments abroad and any other investment which had not come to light till date. They also need to be confronted with the already collected evidence, digital evidence and other witnesses/suspects, such as Mumbai-based businessman Ajay Nawandar, it said.
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