Dheeraj Wadhawan, the former director of DHFL, was taken into custody by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday about a ₹34,000-crore bank fraud case, according to official statements.
After being taken into prison in Mumbai on Monday night, Wadhawan was brought before a special court in Delhi on Tuesday and was placed under judicial custody.
Reports state that the CBI had already filed charges against him about the case in 2022.
Wadhawan was freed on bail after the agency had previously detained him in the Yes Bank corruption scandal.
In addition, it was stated that the largest banking loan fraud in the nation, the DHFL case, had been filed by the CBI. It concerned the purported ₹34,000 crore of deception by a group of 17 banks.
In February of this year, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) instructed the attachment of bank accounts, shares, and mutual fund holdings owned by former DHFL promoters Dheeraj and Kapil Wadhawan to recover outstanding dues totaling ₹22 lakh.
This regulatory action came after the Wadhawan brothers failed to fulfill the fine imposed on them in July of the previous year, pertaining to a case involving the breach of disclosure norms.
The remaining dues of ₹10.6 lakh from each of the Wadhawans include the original penalty sum, as well as accrued interest and recovery expenses.
In July 2023, regulatory authorities fined ₹10 lakh each of the Wadhawans, the former promoters of DHFL (now known as Piramal Finance), for breaching disclosure regulations. At DHFL, Dheeraj Wadhawan was a non-executive director and Kapil Wadhawan was the chairman and MD. Both siblings were part of DHFL’s board.
In another development, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to the CBI last Saturday in response to a petition from Dheeraj Wadhawan, who sought bail on medical grounds. He had challenged a trial court’s denial of bail, citing medical reasons. Currently, Wadhawan is recovering at his residence in Mumbai after undergoing spinal surgery.
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The CBI was directed by Justice Jyoti Singh to respond. The hearing for the matter is set for this Friday, May 17.