The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached assets worth ₹578 crore of United Kingdom-based Wadhawan Global Capital Limited in connection with the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) employees’ provident fund scam involving the Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL).
The company is owned by Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, who are under investigation by multiple agencies in various cases of alleged cheating and fraud. The attached properties are in the form of investments made by the Wadhawans through the company in U.K.-based entities.
FIR by Lucknow police
The ED probe is based on a First Information Report registered by the Lucknow police against some officials of the UPPCL on the charge of investing its funds to the tune of ₹4,122.70 crore in the DHFL in violation of the government notification and directives.
According to the agency, ₹2,267.90 crore of the principal amounts of the UPPCL is still outstanding with the DHFL.
“These illegal investments were received by the DHFL during the period when it was engaged in disbursement of high-value loans to its promoter related companies. All such unsecured loans were sanctioned on the directions of the then DHFL chairman, Kapil Wadhawan, and many of such loans have turned non-performing asset,” said an official.
Over ₹1,000 cr. diverted to U.K.
A significant portion of such loans was siphoned off and not used for the stated purpose. Over ₹1,000 crore was also diverted to the U.K. by the Wadhawans through seven levels of layering and laundering via over 30 beneficially owned/controlled Indian companies, as alleged
The ED had attached assets worth ₹1,412 crore of the Wadhawans in the Yes bank-DHFL fraud case . Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan were also arrested. They are still in judicial custody. The agency has also seized their five high-end vehicles valued ₹12.59 crore.
