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Time of India
31-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Not investigating any irregularities in Indiabulls, found no wrong: CBI tells SC
NEW DELHI: The CBI on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it was not investigating any irregularities in Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (IHFL), now known as Sammaan Capital Limited , and has not found any wrong in the company disbursing loans to corporate entities. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was told by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju that the probe agency has not found anything with regard to allegations of Indiabulls allegedly disbursing dubious loans to corporate entities. Senior advocates Harish Salve and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the company promoters, said that these are fictitious allegations and the petitioner NGO Citizens Whistle Blower Forum has withdrawn several petitions on the issue. The bench said allegations are allegations and whether they are right or wrong will be looked into. The top court adjourned the hearing on the plea due to paucity of time. On July 21, the top court pulled up the CBI for not appearing in a matter against Indiabulls despite notice. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Citizens Whistle Blower Forum in which he is a trustee, had earlier alleged that Indiabulls, a non-banking financial company, used to disburse thousands of crores as loans to companies, which in turn used to pay hundred of crores of rupees to its promoters as unsecured loans. "This is a scam and even the Enforcement Directorate has said in their affidavit that they are aware of hanky panky in the company but are investigating it. Similarly, the SEBI has said they inquired into the matter but they are not the competent authority to investigate the issue and were forwarding the matter to relevant agencies," Bhushan had said. The petitioner NGO alleged IBHFL and its owners were advancing dubious loans to companies owned by large corporate groups which in turn were routing the money back to the accounts of companies owned by the promoters of Indiabulls to increase their personal wealth. Earlier, ASG Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate, had submitted that the agency was investigating the matter and as far as CBI goes there ought to be a formal complaint and could only investigate if the states granted consent. On May 13, the top court sought response of the CBI on the plea which has challenged the February 2, 2024 order of the high court. The top court has noted the submission of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that irregularities were committed in IHFL. The ED accused IHFL of committing some irregularities in the two cases it probed, including the one in Maharashtra where public money was allegedly siphoned off outside the country by cheating investors of around Rs 300 crore.
Hindustan Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
SC seeks CBI response to plea for case against Indiabulls over ‘dubious loans'
The Supreme Court has sought the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)'s response to a petition seeking a criminal case against Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (IHFL), now known as Sammaan Capital Limited, over dubious loans to corporate entities that allegedly violated the Companies Act and misused public funds. A bench of justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan issued the notice on Tuesday and posted the matter for hearing in July after the corporate affairs ministry and the Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) confirmed IHFL's alleged irregularities. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) later on Tuesday filed a status report detailing IHFL's alleged wrongdoings in two cases the agency has probed. The report, a copy of which HT has seen, referred to a case registered against IHFL and others in Maharashtra for allegedly siphoning off public money outside the country and cheating the investors of around ₹300 crore. The ED cited its probe and said it found the allegations were true to a large extent and require a deeper investigation. It alleged that Indiabulls fabricated the valuation report, backdated it, and manipulated the base price for an auction in furtherance of a criminal conspiracy. The ED said it was in the process of filing its complaint in one of the cases. The ED said it has shared its investigation with the Delhi Police in the second case. NGO Citizens Whistleblowers Forum, through advocate Neha Rathi, moved the Supreme Court seeking directions to the CBI to register a criminal case against the IHFL after the Delhi high court refused to entertain its plea. It said ED was finding it difficult to proceed against IHFL in the absence of a predicate offence. The Supreme Court asked the ED why it was slow in its investigation. 'The ED normally works very fast.' The ED's counsel told the court that it was in the process of filing its status report on IHFL's alleged wrongdoings. In its plea in the high court in 2019, the NGO accused IHFL of sanctioning dubious loans to corporate entities. It linked the loans to financial irregularities, including round-tripping, and creating private wealth at the expense of public money. The petition accused the IHFL and its group companies of questionable financial practices, such as preference shares, mobilisation advances, and convertible debentures. It alleged that certain borrower companies shared directors and office addresses with IBHFL, while others, lacking tangible assets or operational businesses, were given loans. The high court ruled that the allegations were unsubstantiated and not backed by sufficient evidence. It observed that the documents the NGO submitted, including balance sheets, were in the public domain and failed to support the claims of financial impropriety. The IHFL moved an application before the high court seeking perjury proceedings against the petitioner, accusing Citizens Whistleblowers Forum of making unsubstantiated allegations. In November 2024, the Supreme Court agreed to examine this petition and sought responses from the Union government, the Reserve Bank of India, SEBI, and ED.
