DHFL Chairman Kapil Wadhawan gets bail in Mirchi case

A special court designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday granted bail to Dewan Housing and Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) Chairman Kapil Wadhawan in the money laundering case pertaining to three properties of the late druglord Iqbal Memon alias Mirchi.

The court has placed some conditions while releasing him on bail such as a cash bond of Rs 5 lakh. It also directed that he must attend the agency’s office as and when summoned by the investigation officer.

Special Judge under PMLA Prashant Rajvaidya further directed Wadhawan to surrender his passport to the investigation officer and prohibited him from leaving the country without the court’s permission.

The Enforcement Directorate filed an application before the court soon after its bail order and sought a week’s stay on the order being effective. This plea was rejected by the court.

Wadhawan, 46, was arrested on January 27 by the Enforcement Directorate under the PMLA. According to the ED case, Kapil was an ‘active conspirator’ in the money laundering case in which three properties belonging to Mirchi were sold to Sunblink – a firm linked with Dheeraj Wadhawan, Kapil’s cousin and DHFL promoter.

The agency claims that in 2010-11, DHFL had given loans to five shell companies amounting to Rs 1,500 crore, and by July 2019, the outstanding amount had reached Rs 2,186 crore. The beneficial owners of these companies are Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan, the agency claims.