‘Arrested & in hosp, DHFL loan fraud accused tried to sell 31cr paintings, foiled'
Mumbai: Dheeraj Wadhawan, the former DHFL promoter arrested in 2020 in a Rs 34,000-crore money laundering case, held multiple meetings with bookie Deepak Kapoor and controversial businessman Ajay Nawandar, while receiving treatment in a posh hospital under judicial custody, in a bid to sell two paintings worth Rs 31 crore — 'Falling Bull' by Tyeb Mehta and another by Manjeet Bawa — that were bought with money diverted from DHFL, said ED in its chargesheet.
But Wadhawan, who spent months at the hospital where Nawandar was also admitted in 2021-22, was foiled as CBI raided Nawandar's house and seized the paintings. Dheeraj, brother Kapil and others face charges of funds diversion, creation of false loan records, and using diverted funds to acquire assets.
Erstwhile DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan and others face allegations of financial misconduct, including fund diversion through associated parties, creation of false retail loan records, circular fund movements, and using diverted funds to acquire assets, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in a recently submitted chargesheet in a Rs 34,000-crore money laundering case.
The DHFL group obtained bank loans and defaulted Rs 34,000 crore loan payments.
After brothers Kapil and Dheeraj were arrested in a money laundering case connected to Yes Bank, ED froze their bank accounts. However, the cash-strapped Wadhawans managed to liquidate high-value assets, including jewellery and luxury watches, gathering Rs 5 crore in cash. The mortgaged jewellery included two diamond bangles at Rs 75 lakh each, two loose diamonds at Rs 30 lakh, two necklaces at Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 60 lakh respectively, a diamond kada for Rs 20 lakh, and two luxury watches for Rs 90 lakh.
Beyond art, the Wadhawan family, including Kapil, Dheeraj, their mother Aruna, Kapil's wife Vanita, Dheeraj's wife Pooja, and Rebecca Dewan, allegedly spent nearly Rs 175.3 crore on jewellery, watches, and other valuables in 2019-20. The ED chargesheet said, "Apart from spending the public money for their lavish lifestyle and hobbies, Wadhawans converted a part of the said public funds in cash for their miscellaneous uses.
" ED stated that the Wadhawan family showed making Rs 26.9 crore payments to two Surat-based firms for purchasing polished diamonds, and the money came back to them in cash by deducting 1% commission.
During 2017-18, Kapil Wadhawan acquired 13 valuable paintings and one sculpture from an auction house for Rs 63 crore, channelling funds through their beneficial companies. It is alleged that DHFL employees and the accused conspired to prepare inflated books of accounts, fabricating thousands of fake home loans to defraud a consortium of 29 banks (later reduced to 17).
The funds disbursed through these alleged fraudulent loans were then diverted for various personal acquisitions, including paintings, sculptures, gemstones, a 20% stake in Varva Aviation, and properties.
It is alleged that auditors, branch auditors, legal consultants, licensors, bookies, and relatives of the Wadhawans are implicated in assisting with the siphoning off of the Rs 34,600 crore, causing immense losses to the consortium banks.
Special judge AC Daga recently took cognisance of the chargesheet, observing that there is a clear prima facie case which demonstrates the generation of proceeds of crime. The investigation specifically detailed lavish expenditures by the Wadhawans.
The ED chargesheet also named Ajay Vazirani, a lawyer and former independent director in DHFL, as an accused in the money laundering case. Vazirani, who was also a director in several Wadhawan-owned companies, is alleged to have assisted in diverting thousands of crores from DHFL into RKW Group companies and in merging 30 "Bandra Book entities" that had illegally taken Rs 5475.44 crore from DHFL. Vazirani allegedly received approximately Rs 17.1 crore into his and his late father's bank accounts under the guise of selling a property to RKW Developers , is considered a "sham" transaction.
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