DHFL’s Dheeraj Wadhawan quized in Iqbal Mirchi case

As part of its investigation into an alleged loan of ₹2,186 crore to Sunblink Real Estate Private Limited, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned

As part of its investigation into an alleged loan of ₹2,186 crore to Sunblink Real Estate Private Limited, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday questioned Dheeraj Wadhawan, non-executive director of Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) as part of a probe into properties allegedly acquired illegally by late gangster Iqbal Mirchi, a close aide of gangster Dawood Ibrahim.

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Wadhawan was brought by the ED to its Ballard Estate office on Tuesday afternoon and questioned for hours. He left the ED’s office around 9pm. Sources said Wadhawan has been hospitalised for the past few days.

“As law-abiding citizens, we are fully cooperating with the agency. We have provided all the details asked for,” said Wadhwan in a statement.

Last month, the ED had searched around a dozen DHFL premises, including the firm’s headquarters in Mumbai. DHFL is under scanner for allegedly extending loans to Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd, which purportedly routed money to Mirchi. The ED’s investigation has shown that in 1986, Mirchi bought three properties from the Mohammad Yusuf Trust, an organisation that Mirchi allegedly used as a front to negotiate with several developers. In 2010, when Mirchi was based in Dubai, Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd bought the three properties from him and later developed them. According to the ED, Mirchi signed agreements in 2010 in which he received 90 million dirham for the development rights to these properties. All these are proceeds of crime, said the ED.