Noida real estate developer held for ₹165 cr bank fraud: EOW

The case gain momentum after a financial creditor approached the NCLT, alleging that 75 flats mortgaged to them had already been mortgaged to the private bank

The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police has arrested a Noida-based real estate developer and key managerial figure at Unnati Fortune Holding Limited (UFHL) for allegedly siphoning off over ₹165 crore in bank loans sanctioned for real estate projects in Noida and Gurugram, officials said on Monday.

Officials said that months before his arrest, the Unnati Group’s office in Noida was shut down. Despite repeated attempts by HT, the company currently had no official spokesperson available for comment. (File Photo)

The accused, identified as Anil Mithas, 52, is the promoter of the Unnati Fortune Group. His arrest follows a complaint filed by a private bank, which alleged that UFHL had secured loans of ₹100 crore in 2016 and ₹65 crore in 2017 for two real estate projects — Aranya in Noida’s Sector 119 and Alder Grove/Uniworld Resorts in Gurugram — but diverted the funds to shell entities and sister concerns under the group’s umbrella.

“During the investigation, it was revealed that instead of using the funds for construction, the company allegedly diverted the money to shell entities and sister concerns,” said Amrutha Guguloth, additional commissioner of police (EOW). “The fraudulent transactions came to light during insolvency proceedings initiated in 2019.”

The case gained momentum after a financial creditor approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), alleging that 75 flats mortgaged to them had already been mortgaged to the private bank. This triggered the appointment of an interim resolution professional (IRP), who then commissioned a forensic audit of UFHL’s financials from March 2014 to March 2019. The audit flagged serious financial irregularities, including dual mortgaging of properties and diversion of funds.

“Documents recovered during the probe clearly established misappropriation and fraudulent diversion of bank loans,” Guguloth said. Based on these findings, a case was registered under Sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, with Section 409 (criminal breach of trust by banker or agent) added later.

Mithas was already in custody after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 8 in a separate money laundering case. He has also been named in two earlier EOW cases — in 2017 and 2020 — under similar charges involving the use of a network of shell firms.

Further, a 2018-19 audit conducted by the Noida authority, following complaints from homebuyers, found that Mithas had sold one apartment to multiple buyers — in some cases, up to six — even when the unit was merely proposed on paper. The audit also flagged the mortgaging of the same proposed units to more than one bank and multiple buyers, leaving many of them in financial and legal distress.

His flagship Aranya project in Sector 119, where most complaints have originated, remains only 20-30% built. Despite launching two IT parks in 2012-13 in Sector 144 along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway, work never began on-site, officials and locals alleged. In fact, he was first accused in 2013 of selling workspace in these parks without owning the land or securing construction approvals from the Noida authority.

“I had bought a 3BHK unit in Unnati’s Aranya housing project in Sector 119 in 2012 with promises of delivery in 2014-15. But later I came to know that he had sold the same unit to someone else too. I am still waiting for justice. But the government bodies are nowhere to deliver the justice to buyers like me,” said Arun Kumar Chauhan, one of the affected buyers.

Officials said that months before his arrest, the Unnati Group’s office in Noida was shut down. Despite repeated attempts by HT, the company currently had no official spokesperson available for comment.