The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Monday filed an application in court seeking release of land belonging to HDIL directors Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, arrested in the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank case, so that it can be auctioned and the bank’s depositors reimbursed with the proceeds.
The EOW is investigating an alleged multi-crore scam where unsecured loans in large amounts were advanced to the Wadhawans and their companies but hidden from the bank’s records for several years, causing losses to the tune of ₹4,335 crore to the bank. The crisis, when it blew up, resulted in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placing restrictions on the bank, which in turn prevented thousands of depositors from getting access to their own money.
The move comes after the RBI-appointed administrator wrote to the EOW last week, seeking release of the Wadhawans’ assets to ease the depositors’ hardships.
“We have submitted a plea in court seeking the detachment of the plots of land in Vasai, Virar and Nallasopara, which the Wadhawans had mortgaged in exchange for some amount of the loans. The total value of the land comes to ₹3,500 crore in the current market,” an EOW officer said.
The officer said this action pertains only to the assets mortgaged by the Wadhawans, and that an application seeking the release of the other assets, which were provisionally attached after the first information report was registered, has already been filed and will come up for hearing on November 13 this year.
Meanwhile, an EOW team is in Punjab to trace Daljit Singh Bal and Gurnaam Singh Hothi, two of the bank’s directors who are wanted in the case. Officers said Mr. Bal was on the bank’s loan committee and is among the several directors instrumental in facilitating loans to the Wadhawans.
