BR Shetty seeks probe by CBI, ED into $6BN 'fraud' in his companies
New Delhi: UAE-based businessman BR Shetty has sought an investigation by central Indian agencies into what he termed a $6 billion fraud committed by former top executives of his companies in connivance with "unscrupulous" bankers.
The founder of hospital chain NMC Healthcare and UAE Exchange has sent a written complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, urging them to probe the alleged embezzlement, corruption, and laundering of money of his companies.
Shetty has alleged that his two former top executives, Prasanth and Promoth Manghat, connived with bankers, auditors and embezzled billions of dollars.
He has sent copies of the complaint to the Prime Minister and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
Economic Times has seen a copy of the complaint.
The complaint is the outcome of a “painstaking” internal global probe by Shetty and warrants a thorough investigation by the central probe agencies, advocates Zulfiqar Memon of MZM Legal, and Nirvikar Singh, who represents Shetty was quoted as saying by Economic Times.
Prasanth and Promoth Manghat, who were former chief executives of NMC Healthcare and UAE Exchange’s holding company Finablr, respectively, could not be reached for comment. According to Shetty’s complaint, the whereabouts of the Manghat brothers were unknown.
The probe agencies have yet to take cognizance of Shetty’s complaint.
Shetty has approached the Indian authorities even as he is facing a probe in the UAE following the collapse of NMC Health, which went into administration for insolvency in April. According to reports, the UAE Central Bank had ordered the seizure of the assets of Shetty and his family, and the Dubai International Financial Centre courts had issued worldwide freezing of his assets.
In India, a court in May had barred Shetty and his wife from selling or transferring some properties till further orders, on a complaint by Bank of Baroda which is seeking to recover loans of more than $250 million from the businessman and his companies.
Shetty, who has blamed his former executives and lenders for the crisis, has named ten individuals and institutions in his complaint seeking criminal action against them.
Shetty has alleged that banks were prosecuting him in a bid to usurp his personal properties and suppress an internal investigation initiated by him.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
New Delhi, May 20: Days after snubbing him for questioning TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's trustworthiness, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge heaped praise on the party's West Bengal unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday, lauding him as a "ladaku sipahi" (combative soldier) of the grand old party.
Kharge snubbed Chowdhury, a five-time Lok Sabha MP from Bahrampur in West Bengal, last week for his remarks that Banerjee cannot be trusted and that she might also go with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"Woh hamarey ladaku sipahi hain (he is our combative solider)," Kharge said on Monday about Chowdhury, who has only intensified his offensive against Banerjee, the West Bengal chief minister, by alleging that she has used violence to crush the Congress in the state and has been helping the BJP.
Asked if the Congress is making the same mistake with Chowdhury as it had made with Banerjee in 1998, when she quit the party to float her own outfit protesting against its coyness in the face of Left "atrocities" on its cadre in West Bengal, Kharge told PTI, "I do not want to speak about an individual. He (Chowdhury) is a combative soldier of the Congress party and is our leader in West Bengal."
He said some Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders are now trying to rake up the issue of the Congress's alliance with the Left but it will not work.
"They are trying to present it differently. But it will not happen like this as the Congress party is strong and understands each other. What has happened in West Bengal is that the Congress high command has taken a decision to have a coalition with the Left and we are moving forward with that," Kharge said.
The TMC is contesting the ongoing Lok Sabha polls on its own in the state, while the Congress and the Left are jointly fighting the election.
Kharge on Saturday dismissed Chowdhury's criticism of Banerjee while addressing a joint press conference with Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai.
"Mamata Banerjee is with the (INDI) alliance. She has recently said she will join the government. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not take the decision. The decision will be taken by me and the high command, and those who do not agree will go out," Kharge said in remarks that riled Chowdhury's supporters in Bengal.
Reacting to Kharge's comments, Chowdhury said, "I cannot speak in favour of someone who wants to finish me and our party in Bengal politically. This is a battle for every Congress worker. I have spoken on their behalf. I do not want the state Congress to be used for her (Banerjee's) personal agenda."
After Kharge's remarks, several posters and hoardings of the Congress president were defaced with ink in front of the state Congress headquarters in Kolkata on Sunday.
The Congress has issued a stern warning to those indulging in anti-party activities in West Bengal and asked its state unit to submit a report on the hoardings vandalised outside the party office in Kolkata.
Taking serious note of such acts, AICC general secretary, organisation, K C Venugopal has said the party would not tolerate such "gross indiscipline".
"We are taking very serious note of such grave anti-party activities. The Indian National Congress shall not tolerate such public display of defiance and indiscipline. The general secretary in-charge of West Bengal is directed to immediately submit a factual report on these acts of gross indiscipline," Venugopal said in a statement.
He said it has been brought to the party high command's notice that a few office-bearers and workers of the party have made certain uncharitable remarks against Kharge in the media as well as on social media.
"Acts of vandalising hoardings outside the WBPCC office have also been carried out by certain miscreants. This has hurt the sentiments of millions of party workers and supporters," Venugopal said.
Unidentified people also wrote "agent of Trinamool Congress" on Kharge's posters and hoardings in Kolkata.
Chowdhury has expressed displeasure over the incident and asked party workers to get a police complaint lodged.
Banerjee, who had initially said she will extend outside support to the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) of opposition parties if it comes to power, has subsequently said she is very much part of the anti-BJP coalition at the national level and would form the next government at the Centre with it.
However, the West Bengal chief minister has also alleged that the state units of both the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress, who are part of the alliance, have joined hands and helped the BJP in the state.
The TMC walked out of the INDIA bloc in West Bengal in January.
