Wadhawan brothers siphoned Rs 11,500 crore from DHFL using 87 shell firms, says ED

From floating a company in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) to buying precious artworks, an AgustaWestland Grand helicopter, and high-value jewellery and stones, the Enforcement Directorate has detailed how Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan - promoters of the now-defunct DHFL - allegedly siphoned off public money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

The arrested Wadhawan brothers fraudulently diverted over ₹11,500 crore fraudulently from DHFL to 87 shell entities they controlled between 2006 to 2017, using bogus home and retail loans issued in the names of around 260,000 old or non-existent individuals, the ED alleged in its chargesheet. These funds were never part of DHFL's legitimate loan portfolio and were fraudulently shown as loans disbursed to individual borrowers, it said.

According to the ED probe, DHFL borrowed ₹42,871 crore from a consortium of 17 banks led by Union Bank of India (UBI), showing thousands of fake home loans as receivables.


The Wadhawans also allegedly purchased 25 paintings and one sculpture for ₹63.44 crore through their controlled and beneficially owned entities JVPD One Builder LLP, RKW Construction Facility Management, Cloud Nine Realtors, and VKW Holdings BVI. Of this, ₹40.07 crore were allegedly diverted from the accounts of DHFL, which were meant for different projects, the ED claimed.

The probe also revealed that Wadhawan family members purchased jewellery worth approx. ₹42.10 crore from Diamantina Fine Jewels LLP, Bandra. Of this, ₹26.82 crore was diverted from DHFL, it said.

Earlier this month, a PMLA court took cognisance of the ED's prosecution complaint (chargesheet), setting the stage for a trial.

The court observed that as per the chargesheet, other accused persons who acted as auditor, branch auditor, legal consultant, licensor, and bookie and relatives of the Wadhawans helped them siphon off money from DHFL, causing losses of ₹34,614.88 crore to the consortium banks. "This amount itself is proceeds of crime, generated by the accused persons, by falsifying the accounts, by diverting the funds, and using it for other purposes...," it observed.