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Out of 40 people accused along with the promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan in the huge ₹34,000 crore bank fraud case involving Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), eleven have now agreed to help the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). These eleven accused have turned “approvers,” meaning they will provide important information to the CBI in exchange for pardon under India’s criminal law system. This development is significant for the ongoing investigation and trial.
What Does Becoming an Approver Mean?
When someone becomes an approver in a criminal case, they agree to cooperate with the investigating agency, share details about the crime, and testify against other accused individuals. In return, they receive protection from punishment or a reduced sentence. This helps the investigation team get inside information about the crime, making it easier to build a strong case.
Who Are These Approvers?
Among those who have turned approvers for the CBI are well-known businessmen like Sudhakar Shetty and Abhay Adukia, and film producer Parag Sanghvi. They approached a special CBI court in Delhi this week to request approval to become approvers under specific sections of the criminal procedure code, which allow the court to grant pardon to accomplices who cooperate.
According to the court order by Special Judge Ashwani Kumar Sarpal at Rouse Avenue Courts, Sudhakar Shetty expressed his willingness to reveal facts about the DHFL fraud and assist the CBI during the investigation and trial.
The CBI did not oppose their request. Instead, the agency said that the information provided by these approvers will help uncover the full conspiracy, which cannot be proven by direct evidence alone.
Other Accused Who Became Approvers Earlier
Apart from the three named recently, eight other accused have already become approvers. Their names are Ritesh Virchand Shah, Dinesh Bansal, Nikhil Mansukhani, Rajen Vasant Kumar Dhruv, Gopal Dalvi, Vivek Jayesh Thar, Arvind Kayan, and Malav Mehta. The court allowed them to become approvers earlier this year and granted them pardon, which removed their names from the official charge sheets filed by the CBI.
About the DHFL Fraud Case
The DHFL case is considered the biggest bank fraud in India’s history. The investigation has named 108 individuals and companies involved.
Between 2010 and 2019, a group of 17 banks gave loans totaling ₹42,871 crore to DHFL. However, the promoters, Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, allegedly misused these funds. They moved the money to fake or “shell” companies, called the ‘Bandra Book Entities,’ causing a massive loss of ₹34,926 crore to the lending banks.
In 2021, the Piramal Group took control of DHFL through the corporate insolvency process to try and resolve the company’s financial problems.
Key Findings by the CBI
CBI’s investigation found that after getting the loan money, DHFL gave about ₹11,765 crore as loans to around 87 shell companies. Out of these, 81 companies were connected to the Wadhawan Group itself.
Surprisingly, these shell companies were not recorded in DHFL’s official books. Instead, the loans were shown as given to 2,60,315 fake individuals, without any proper paperwork like loan applications or security.
Ongoing Investigations
The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are continuing their investigations into DHFL and its promoters. The case also involves connections with Yes Bank and its founder Rana Kapoor.
