In an ongoing investigation of a case related to the alleged loss of Rs 34,615 crore to a consortium of 17 banks led by the Union Bank of India, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted further searches on Friday, at the premises of two persons in Mumbai and Dewan Villa, Mahabaleshwar, leading to the recovery of a large number of paintings and sculptures, some cash and other incriminating documents. The value of these artworks is estimated to be around Rs 40 crore, as per initial estimates.
According to the CBI, the persons whose premises were searched, resulting in the recoveries, were Rebecca Dewan and Ajay Ramesh Nawandar.
Last month, the CBI had registered a fresh case against the Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL), the then CMD, Kapil Wadhawan, the director, Dheeraj Wadhawan, and six realtor companies for allegedly being part of a criminal conspiracy to cheat the consortium led by the Union Bank of India to the tune of Rs 34,615 crore by siphoning off loans availed from the said banks and falsifying the books of the said private (borrower) company and creating shell companies/ false entities, which had come to be known as ‘Bandra Book Entities’.
It was further alleged that separate audits conducted by other private audit accounting organisations had identified multiple instances of diversion of funds by the accused for personal benefits and falsification of books of accounts to camouflage and conceal dubious transactions. The audits also identified several instances where large value loans were provided to such fictitious entities without due diligence and without securities. Instances of sanction and disbursement of loans, merely by e-mail communications were allegedly found for which no loan files were maintained in the said private (borrower) company.
“During investigation, it was found that the promoters had allegedly diverted the funds and made investments in various entities. It was also alleged that the promoters had acquired expensive paintings and sculptures worth about Rs 55 crore using the diverted funds,” said a CBI officer.
Earlier, searches were conducted on June 22 at 12 locations in Mumbai at the premises of the accused, leading to the recovery of incriminating documents.
