The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets worth Rs 578 crore (GBP 57 million) of Wadhawan Global Capital (UK) Ltd (WGC-UK), a company owned by Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in DHFL-UPPCL fraud case.
The attached assets are in the form of investment made by Wadhawans through WGC-UK in UK-based companies.
The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Lucknow police against some officials of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (UPPCL) under the sections of the Indian Penal Code for illegal investment of GPF and CPF funds of the employees of the UPPCL into a private company namely DHFL in sheer violation of the Government Notification and directives, the agency said.
The ED investigation revealed that DHFL in connivance with UPPCL officials had illegally received Rs 4,122.70 crore of GPF and CPF funds of UPPCL employees in fixed deposit in DHFL, it said.
Out of this total investment of Rs 4,122.70 crore by UPPCL in DHFL, Rs 2267.90 crore of principal amounts of provident fund (GPF+CPF) of UPPCL is still outstanding to be paid by DHFL.
“These illegal investments had been received by the DHFL during the period, where DHFL was engaged into disbursement of high value loans to its promoter related companies. All such unsecured loans had been sanctioned as per the directions of the Chairman of DHFL, Kapil Wadhawan and many of such loans have turned into NPA (Non-Performing Assets),” it said in a statement.
Investigation has also revealed that many of these loans have been siphoned off without utilisation of the same for the purposes, it was sanctioned. Part of the proceeds of crime, amounting to more than Rs 1,000 crore, generated in this case has been siphoned off to UK by the
Wadhawans by way of seven levels of layering and laundering through more than 30 beneficially owned /controlled Indian companies of Wadhawans, it said.
The ED has already attached properties worth Rs 1,412 crore of Wadhawans in Yes bank DHFL fraud case and has arrested Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, who are still in judicial custody.
Further, the ED has also seized five high-end vehicles of Wadhawans having approximate value of Rs 12.59 crores in this case.