Religare approaches Corporate Ministry with complaint against Singh brothers, ex-chairman Sunil Godhwani

The Singh brothers of Fortis are getting deeper into trouble. Now, Religare Enterprises (REL) and Religare Finvest (RFL) have approached the Corporate Ministry with a complaint against former Fortis promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh besides REL’s ex-chairman Sunil Godhwani accusing them of committing malpractices including fraud, said a media report. The complaint stated that RFL had sanctioned loans to companies known to the Singh brothers but were never repaid, according to Business Standard. The loans stand at Rs 2,397 crore, with Rs 415 crore as interest to 19 entities, according to  report based on the complaint, which has been filed under Sections 210, 212, and 447 of the Companies Act. Earlier on Wednesday, RFL had lodged a criminal complaint with the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police against the Singh brothers. The complaint also named Godhwani, among other directors, for cheating, fraud and misappropriation of funds to the tune of Rs 740 crore. [caption id=“attachment_5183221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file photo of Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh. Reuters[/caption] “Religare Finvest, a subsidiary of Religare Enterprises has filed a criminal complaint with the EOW the Delhi Police against the promoters of REL Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh as well as REL’s former CMD, Sunil Godhwani, N K Ghoshal, the directors and officers of the promoter entities and other unknown persons for various offences under the Indian Penal Code,” REL said in a regulatory filing. The complaint has been registered for various offences including cheating, criminal breach of trust, misappropriation, fraud and forgery and criminal conspiracy, REL said. “The complaint was filed basis internal inquiries (including an independent forensic review) undertaken by the new RFL board and management,” it said. REL was controlled by the warring Singh brothers until February 2018. Post their exit from the board of REL in February 2018, the boards of REL and RFL have been re-constituted. Pursuant to reconstitution, the REL and RFL boards now consist of professionals widely recognised in their respective fields, who are unconnected to the promoters, it said further. “The reconstituted boards have appointed a new professional management to manage the affairs of REL and its subsidiaries. Through the inquiries undertaken by the new RFL Board and management it has discovered siphoning and misappropriation of funds of RFL amounting to approx Rs 740 crores in aggregate through loans to entities that are controlled by, connected to or known to the promoters or their associates,” REL said. Earlier this month, the feud between the brothers took an ugly turn when they allegedly came to blows, following which the younger brother Shivinder said the incident had closed any possibility of them working together to resolve the issues. The relationship between the Singh brothers, erstwhile promoters of Fortis Healthcare and Ranbaxy, went sour after allegations of fund diversion from the healthcare chain emerged. It reportedly aggravated further over payment of arbitration award to Daiichi Sankyo. Shivinder had offered to pay his share of the Rs 3,500 crore award to the Japanese drug maker in a dispute related to the acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories. Earlier in September this year, Shivinder had filed a petition before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), alleging that collective and ongoing actions of Malvinder and ex-Religare chief Sunil Godhwani led to a systemic undermining of the interests of companies and their shareholders. — With PTI inputs