Indiabulls denies fund diversion charges

Indiabulls Housing Finance (IHFL) has refuted charges of misappropriation of around Rs 98,000 crore by its Chairman Sameer Gehlaut and other directors, saying that the allegation is "bizzare" and is meant to malign the company's reputation. It said the allegations are an attempt to create hurdles in its merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank.

The statement comes after a plea was filed in the Supreme Court on Monday by two of its shareholders— Abhay Yadav and Vikash Shekhar—seeking legal action against Indiabulls Housing Finance, Gehlaut and the directors for the alleged misappropriation of public money.

"The total loans on the books of Indiabulls Housing are approx Rs 90,000 crores. The allegation of siphoningoff Rs 98,000 crores is bizarre," Indiabulls said in a regulatory filing.

Indiabulls said the petitioners Yadav and Shekhar own 4 & 2 shares, respectively, of IHFL. The housing finance company responded by filing a complaint with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, which has also been marked to Home Ministry, Prime Minister’s Office and various investigating agencies, alleging extortion by the petitioners. It said that a racket of blackmailers has been trying to extort money from Indiabulls over the last two months, threatening to write complaints to various government departmen,ts alleging siphoning off of Rs 55,000 crore if Rs 10 crore was not paid to them, following which the company filed an FIR on June 4. It said one person involved in the blackmail was arrested on June 7. After the arrest, the group of people involved floated another complaint enhancing the amount concerned to Rs 98,000 crore, the release said.

Yadav has alleged that Gehlaut, with the help of one Harish Fabiani, an NRI based in Spain, allegedly created multiple "shell companies" to which IHFL loaned huge sums of money under "bogus and non-existent pretexts".