Lockdown violations: Maharashtra Home Minister requests CBI to take custody of DHFL promoters Wadhawans

DHFL promoters Wadhawans may be taken into CBI custody soon. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Wednesday said the state government has requested the CBI to take the custody of DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, who allegedly violated the lockdown norms and travelled to Mahabaleshwar earlier this month, according to PTI. After the Wadhawan brothers and 21 others, including their family members, reached Mahabaleshwar hill town, they were quarantined there by the Satara district administration. [caption id=“attachment_7966851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Kapil Wadhawan. News18[/caption] In a Facebook address, Deshmukh said he has requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take the custody of Wadhawans after their quarantine period ends at 2 pm on Wednesday. Kapil Wadhawan, the 46-year-old chairman and managing director of Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL), was arrested on January 27 this year by the Enforcement Directorate for his dubious dealings with gangster Iqbal, who died in 2013, and was booked under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He was granted bail on 21 February1 by a special PMLA court in Mumbai. Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on 15 April moved the Bombay High Court seeking cancellation of bail of Wadhawan, who is an accused in a money laundering case, for violating his bail conditions and travelling during the coronavirus lockdown. Advocate Purnima Kantharia of the ED mentioned the application before high court Justice P D Naik. The court then issued notice to Wadhawan and posted the matter for further hearing on 23 April. Wadhawan, the 46-year-old chairman and managing director of DHFL, was arrested on 27 January this year by the ED for his dubious dealings with gangster Iqbal, who died in 2013, and was booked under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He was granted bail on 21 February by a special PMLA court in Mumbai. Wadhawan, his brother Dheeraj and other family members travelled to their farmhouse at Mahabaleshwar hill station in Maharashtra’s Satara district last week, in alleged breach of the lockdown imposed to check the spread of coronavirus. Subsequently, the ED issued orders for seizure of five luxury vehicles in which they travelled to Mahabaleshwar from Khandala. Kantharia said the ED sought an urgent hearing of its application after it came to light that Kapil violated the conditions imposed upon him by the special PMLA court while granting him bail. “The accused (Kapil Wadhawan) was directed to appear regularly before the ED to ensure he does not leave the city. However, it was recently learnt that he travelled outside the city and thus, violated the bail conditions, Kantharia said. She said this was an added ground for the prosecution to seek urgent hearing into its application requesting cancellation of bail granted to Wadhawan. According to the ED, Kapil Wadhawan laundered money from DHFL as part of an illegal property deal with Mirchi. It alleged that Rs 12,773 crore was siphoned off from DHFL on the pretext of providing loans to one lakh fictitious customers. A part of this loan was used to make payments to Mirchi, who died in 2013 in London, the agency claimed. As per the ED’s case, Mirchi’s properties in Mumbai were sold to Sunblink Real Estate Private Limited, a company linked to Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan.   --With PTI inputs