ED freezes ₹51 crore in DHFL loan ‘fraud’ case

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen ₹51.75 crore lying in a bank account following a search in connection with a bank loan fraud case allegedly involving Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) and its promoters.

The ED’s investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) is based on a First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on a complaint filed by the Union Bank of India on behalf of a consortium of 17 banks.

The FIR states that the accused persons, including Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, entered into a criminal conspiracy to defraud the consortium banks which sanctioned credit facilities totaling ₹42,871.42 crore to DHFL.

“The loans were siphoned off and misappropriated by falsifying the books of accounts of DHFL, resulting in undue loss of around ₹ 34,615 crore to the lenders of the consortium,” the ED said.

Foreign asset

According to the ED, a foreign asset named Hurtmore House in the UK, earlier held in the name of Kapil Wadhawan’s wife, Vanity Wadhawan, was misappropriated through a series of transactions involving the creation of a fictitious liability in her name.

“A purported loan agreement was entered into between Al Jalore Trading FZE and Vanita Wadhawan and a UK property was mortgaged under it. Investigations revealed that the arrangement was used to create a charge on a foreign asset to settle a liability in India arising from the DHFL loan fraud,” it said.

The UK property was subsequently sold earlier this year and the purchase price was directed to Al Jalore Trading FZE’s bank account held in India, instead of being received by registered owner Vanita Wadhawan, the agency said.

It further argued that the transaction therefore involved the dispersal of proceeds of crime, the use and disposition of a foreign asset in a manner intended to facilitate settlement of Indian liability through a structured transaction involving foreign assets and entities.

During the searches, the bank account of Al Jalore Trading FZE was examined and an amount of $5.41 million (equivalent to about Rs. 51.75 million) was frozen. “Other incriminating documents and records related to the transactions and assets under investigation were also seized/seized,” the agency said.

Published – 28 Aug 2026 22:36 IST