The Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday seized an Agusta Westland make helicopter from the premises of builder Avinash Bhosale, who is allegedly linked with the Rs 34,615-crore Dewan Housing Finance Limited scam case, in Pune, The Indian Express reported.
The Union Bank of India alleged that between 2010 and 2018, Dewan Housing Finance Limited took loans from a consortium of 17 banks under various arrangements and started defaulting on commitments of repayment from May 2019 onwards. This caused the consortium lenders a wrongful loss of Rs 34,615 crore.
The bank said that accounting watchdog KPMG conducted a special review audit of DHFL from April 1, 2015, to December 31, 2018. The audit, the bank added, found “deviation of laid down norms and procedures, manipulation of accounts, concealments, undisclosed bank accounts and misrepresentation”
On June 22, the Central Bureau of Investigation had booked former DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, among 13 accused in the case. The agency said it is the biggest bank fraud case in the country, as they allegedly cheated the consortium of Union Bank of India-led lenders of Rs 34,615 crore.
Bhosale was arrested in the case on May 26, according to The Indian Express. The investigating agency alleged he had taken money from Yes Bank for business but diverted it for other purposes.
On July 25, a supplementary chargesheet was filed against Bhosale for allegedly routing illicit funds through several real estate companies based in Maharashtra.
On Saturday, the Central Bureau of Investigation alleged that the helicopter was purchased by Varva Aviation in 2011, which is owned by an Association of Persons, The Hindu reported.
The agency claims that upon investigation it was found that a company – RKW Developers Private Limited – owned by the Wadhawan family of the DHFL Group had a stake in Varva Aviation.
The agency said that RKW Developers Private Limited had joined the Association of Persons in 2017 and was contributing to the cost price and maintenance of the helicopter.
It is alleged that the funds used for making a payment towards the stake in the Association of Persons were sourced from the loans sanctioned by the consortium of different banks, according to The Hindu.
Another company owned by Bhosale – ABIL Infraprojects Limited – also allegedly had a stake in the helicopter, according to CBI.
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