Loan ‘irregularities’ case: CBI closes probe against DHFL

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has concluded its probe into allegations of fraudulent home loan accounts linked to Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited, without finding any evidence to support the claims of criminal conspiracy.

The case had been under probe for more than three years with allegations that DHFL had allegedly created around 2.60 lakh fake accounts to illegitimately secure financial benefits under a government housing scheme, officials said. The investigation was launched after a report by global audit firm Grant Thornton, which had been hired by DHFL’s newly constituted board to review the company’s books of accounts.

According to the report, there were doubts over the opening of ghost loan accounts and misuse of funds. However, after a detailed probe, the CBI could not find any concrete evidence to indicate that the company or its directors had indulged in any kind of malpractice.

The agency has now submitted its findings to a special court in Delhi, which will decide whether to accept the closure report or direct further examination of the case.

The CBI initially filed the case against former DHFL promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, along with the firm. Investigators had suspected that a non-existent branch was set up in Mumbai’s Bandra area, where loan accounts worth Rs 14,046 crore were allegedly fabricated and recorded in the company’s database. It is alleged that fictitious loan accounts were allegedly created between 2007 and 2019, amounting to Rs 11,755.79 crore being siphoned off into shell companies referred to as “Bandra Book firms.” The investigators further suspected that some of the fake accounts were also used for claiming government subsidies under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, a housing-for-all scheme launched by the Narendra Modi government.