One held for duping businessman of ` 12.5 cr on promise of arranging a loan

A man was arrested by the economic offences wing of the Delhi Police on Thursday for allegedly duping a businessman of ` 12.5 crore on the pretext of arranging a ` 400-crore loan.

Sanjay Sharma Bhardwaj was arrested from Udaipur after the police received inputs about his location.

The incident came to fore when Naresh Kumar Sharma, director of Balaji Group of companies based in Kutch, Gujarat, complained to the police that Sanjay Sharma and Saket Sharma approached him as the owners of a company that provides loans to businessmen. “They informed him that their company Delta Fin lease was in the business of arranging and providing funds for various business and were providing loans not lesser than ` 100 crore,” said DCP (EOW) Mangesh Kashyap.

Sharma, who was in need of money, became interested. “The duo assured Sharma that they would get a loan of ` 400 crore sanctioned against the mortgage of immovable properties. They also arranged his meeting with seniors of the company at a five star hotel. In the meeting, the ‘seniors’ demanded a fee of ` 20 crore for processing and disbursing the loan,” said Kashyap.

Sharma reportedly paid ` 12.7 crore as processing fee, but the company did not sanction the loan and later become untraceable. During questioning, Bhardwaj said he and his associates would promise a loan of ` 400 crore and more to victims and then dupe them by asking for a processing fee.

“He would represent himself as the company’s financier in India and organise meetings with other co-accused in five-stars hotels. In this racket, he roped in a foreigner David Welham who represented himself as resident of Thailand to meet gullible victims in five star hotels to win their confidence,” said Kashyap.