DHFL promoters siphoned off ₹31,000 crore of public money, donated ₹20 crore to BJP: Cobrapost

In a sensational revelation, investigative and non-profit media portal Cobrapost alleged that the promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) have siphoned off more than ₹31,000 crore public money in what it called the biggest financial scam in the history of India.

Addressing a press meet in New Delhi, Aniruddha Bahal, Editor of Cobrapost, said the siphoning off was primarily carried out through grants of loans and advances to shell companies and some other means.

Money has also been routed through these dubious companies and parked outside India to acquire assets, Cobrapost claimed after apparently analysing documents available with public authorities and information available in public domain.

Bahal alleged that the siphoned off money was routed through dubious companies and parked outside India. The money was used to acquire assets by the DHFL promoters, he said.

According to Bahal, 32 Indian banks sanctioned a whopping ₹50,000 crore worth of loans for DHFL. The state-owned State Bank of India (SBI) has the highest exposure, at ₹11,500 crore, he added.

"There are 15 banks with exposure more than ₹1,500 crore (each),” said Bahal.

He further alleged that the promoters of the DHFL, the Wadhawans, used the money to buy shares/equity and other private assets in India and abroad, including in countries like UK, UAE, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.

As per the Cobrapost expose, ₹21,477 crore of DHFL’s funds were transferred into multiple shell companies as loans and investments without any declarations to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Interestingly, DHFL donated 20 crore to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) between the financial years 2014–15 and 2016–17 through RKW Developers Pvt. Ltd, Skill Realtors Pvt. Ltd and Darshan Developers Pvt. Ltd respectively.

All these three donors are linked to the promoters of the DHFL, the Wadhawans, claimed Cobrapost. The details can be watched in this video released by Cobrapost: