ED freezes ₹51 crore in DHFL loan ‘fraud’ case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen ₹51.75 crore in a bank account as part of an investigation into a bank loan fraud case involving Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) and its promoters. The ED probe, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), was initiated following a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on behalf of a consortium of 17 banks.

The FIR alleges that the accused, including Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, conspired to cheat the consortium banks, which had sanctioned credit facilities totaling ₹42,871.42 crore to DHFL. The funds were allegedly misappropriated through falsification of the books of accounts, resulting in a loss of approximately ₹34,615 crore to the consortium lenders.

Additionally, a foreign asset, Hurtmore House in the United Kingdom, held in the name of Kapil Wadhawan's wife, Vanita Wadhawan, was allegedly disposed of through a series of transactions to settle an Indian liability arising from the DHFL loan fraud. The ED has frozen an amount of $5.41 million (approximately ₹51.75 crore) from the bank account of Al Jalore Trading FZE, which received the sale proceeds of the U.K. property.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Hindu's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.