The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra and others over an alleged financial fraud involving LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LICHFL), with the lender claiming a loss of more than ₹1,322 crore.
The case relates to two loan facilities totalling ₹980 crore that were sanctioned by LICHFL in 2018 to companies linked to Chandra. According to the FIR, the loans were secured by personal guarantees furnished by Chandra and were allegedly sanctioned on the basis of net worth certificates submitted by him.
The first loan facility of ₹500 crore was extended to Vasant Sagar Properties Pvt Ltd, with Pan India Infra Projects Pvt Ltd as the co-borrower. The second facility, worth ₹480 crore, was given to Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, with Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures Pvt Ltd as the co-borrower.
According to the complaint, a net worth certificate submitted in March 2018 valued Chandra's net worth at around ₹59,113 crore. Another certificate submitted in July 2018 put his net worth at ₹40,562 crore.
Both loan accounts subsequently turned non-performing and went into default. LICHFL has alleged that the outstanding amounts stood at around ₹570.5 crore and ₹507.25 crore, respectively.
The FIR alleges that Chandra later disputed the net worth figures mentioned in the certificates during proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. According to the CBI, he stated that his net worth in 2024 was ₹31.79 crore and that it had not exceeded ₹40,000 crore in 2017-18.
The agency has alleged criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust, among other offences. The FIR further alleges that Chandra acted in collusion with the borrower companies and their officials and that false or inflated documents were used to secure the loan facilities.
The CBI investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding the sanction and disbursal of the loans, the alleged use of the net worth certificates and the subsequent default of the facilities.
The development comes amid separate insolvency proceedings involving Chandra. A repayment plan involving payments of around ₹6.5 crore to creditors has also faced legal challenges, with LIC Housing Finance among the creditors opposing the plan.
