INDIA. Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a Rs 140 crore new bank fraud case against HDIL’s subsidiary “Guruashish Construction”, involved in a scam related to the redevelopment of Patra Chawl located at Goregaon West in North Mumbai on Thursday.
The fresh action was initiated on a complaint from the Union Bank of India against the HDIL promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang Wadhawan, who are already involved in a Rs 4,300 crore Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC) scam, officials said.
The Union Bank alleged that “Guruashish Construction” was a wholly-owned subsidiary of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) in Mumbai’s real estate business.
The real estate firm entered into a five-year Rs 3,167 crore development contract with the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to develop 40 acres of land in Goregaon (West). The project’s first phase was scheduled to be completed by December 2017 for Rs 1,022 crore, for which a Rs 200 crore loan was sanctioned in 2010 and disbursed the following year by the Union Bank.
The “Guruashish Construction” s account was declared a non-performing asset in 2014 due to the non-servicing principal and interest. The forensic audit found a diversion of Rs 100 crore to parent company HDIL but no invoices or supporting documents justifying the transfer were kept on record.
The company was “non-cooperative” in disclosing its account books and gave misleading information about the total cost of the project and timelines for its completion while seeking loans, the Union Bank alleged.
The bank alleged that the Wadhawans “cheated” it with a dishonest intention to make a wrongful gain for themselves and cause wrongful loss to the bank by fraudulent means. “They entered into a criminal conspiracy with each other, wherein the disbursed amount from banks was diverted to other related companies,” the statement added.
The CBI also booked the Wadhawans in October 2020 in connection with a Rs 200 crore loan fraud from the “Yes Bank”. Besides, they are being probed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a Rs 4300 crore PMC Bank scam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Patra Chawl
Since the project was stalled for over 13 years, in March last year, the Maharashtra Government announced that the project will be implemented by the MHADA involving private players and nearly 672 tenants of Patra Chawl (Plot No R-09) (Siddharth Nagar), will be given dwellings admeasuring 650 square feet carpet area (plus 117 square feet open area) on an ownership basis.
Also Read: Shiv Sena Leader Sanjay Raut Gets Bail in Patra Chawl Money Laundering Case
