Thursday (October 10): Former promoter of Religare Enterprises Shivinder Singh was arrested today by the Economic Offence Wing of the Delhi Police in connection with an alleged fraud case.
The arrest came two months after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had carried out searches in his residence after revelations from the Mauritius Leaks on the offshore holdings of Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh were described as “corroborative evidence” for the investigating agency.
REL, which earned consolidated profits of Rs 92 crore on revenues of Rs 748 crore in 2007-08 turned into a loss-making firm in subsequent years with losses mounting to Rs 1,350 crore on revenues of Rs 2,586 crore in 2017-18.
The Singh brothers had a fallout with Sunil Godhwani, who was appointed by the brothers to lead their family office after Ranbaxy sale in addition to his role in Religare (of which he had become the CEO in 2001).
Godhwani quit as Chairman and Managing Director of REL in July 2016, and stepped down as whole-time director in September 2017. Later on, the two brothers fought, blaming each other and Godhwani for fraud.
Malvinder alleged that loans were given to Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the spiritual guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, to buy real estate.
Documents obtained from Appleby and Mauritius-based Conyers, Dill and Pearman — two big and reputed incorporators of offshore companies — show that Religare Capital Markets Ltd (RCML), a wholly-owned subsidiary of REL, set up an investment holding subsidiary in Mauritius in 2008.
In July, the news agency The Indian Express had reported that funds were allegedly diverted from Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL), a company listed in India, into a Jersey firm that was solely owned by Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, using a web of offshore companies.
