The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a case against Unitech Ltd. former managing director, Sanjay Chandra, his father Ramesh Chandra and elder brother Ajay Chandra for allegedly cheating Canara Bank of Rs 198 crore, people familiar with the development said.
Ironically, Sanjay Chandra was released from Tihar jail after 43 months on Friday evening after a trial court in Delhi granted him interim relief for four weeks considering his aggrieved medical condition. He was last arrested in April 2017 by Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for allegedly cheating homebuyers who had invested in company projects.
Unitech Ltd, which used to be a construction giant before the company was embroiled in 2G spectrum scam, is facing multiple investigations by various agencies including CBI, ED and Delhi Police.
Sanjay Chandra is already facing trial in 2G spectrum scam. He was first arrested in 2011 by the CBI for allegedly conspiring to get telecom licence for his company.
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To give relief to about 30,000 homebuyers, in January this year, the Centre decided to take over the company and appoint nominee directors so that unfinished housing projects can get completed. The move was approved by the Supreme Court.
{{/usCountry}}To give relief to about 30,000 homebuyers, in January this year, the Centre decided to take over the company and appoint nominee directors so that unfinished housing projects can get completed. The move was approved by the Supreme Court.
{{/usCountry}}In its latest FIR, filed on the complaint of Canara Bank, the CBI has alleged that Unitech had availed different credit facilities from it which it failed to repay. As directors of the company, Sanjay Chandra, Ramesh Chandra and Ajay Chandra had given personal as well as corporate guarantee to the bank and had mortgaged properties as collateral security.
It has further alleged that the company has illegally sold the properties mortgaged as collateral security without informing the bank.
The Supreme Court had appointed M/s Grant Thornton to conduct a forensic audit of Unitech, which revealed that the company had diverted, siphoned off and misappropriated funds.
“Out of Rs 14,270 crore collected from 29,800 homebuyers, around Rs 5,063.05 was potentially not utilized for construction/execution of 74 identified projects. Similarly, Unitech availed Rs 1,805.86 crore from six financial institutions, out of which Rs 763.06 crore was not utilized for projects,” states the complaint filed by Canara Bank, reviewed by HT.
Grant Thornton report further revealed that between 2007 and 2019, three subsidiaries of Unitech made investments of Rs 1,745 crore in 10 companies in Cyprus, it added.
When contacted, Unitech’s lawyer Vijay Aggarwal declined to comment on the fresh case.