New Delhi: Former Fortis Healthcare promoter Malvinder Singh was arrested by the Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police on Tuesday in another case related to alleged misappropriation of funds at Religare Enterprises arm Religare Finvest Ltd, the police said.
“Religare Finvest alleged that Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh in connivance with employees of Lakshmi Vilas Bank have misappropriated two fixed deposits of ₹400 crore and ₹350 crore made with the bank by the complainant company,” said O.P. Mishra, additional commissioner of police (EOW) in a statement, adding that the duo siphoned off funds for their “own benefit.”
Malvinder Singh is already in judicial custody at the Tihar jail in another case.
Malvinder Singh and his younger brother Shivinder Singh were arrested in October, along with former Religare Enterprises Ltd chairman and managing director Sunil Godhwani and two other people, for allegedly causing wrongful loss worth ₹2,397 crore to Religare Finvest Ltd.
The arrests are the culmination of nearly a year-long probe into the affairs of the Singh brothers, heirs to a storied business house that was worth billions of rupees a few years ago. Much of their troubles can be traced to the breakneck expansion plan of group companies that threw their businesses into a debt spiral.
The Singh brothers were promoters of financial firm Religare Enterprises and hospital operator Fortis Healthcare till last year. Godhwani was the chairman and managing director of Religare Enterprises till 2016.
In December, Religare Enterprises and its subsidiary Religare Finvest made complaints to the police, Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Securities and Exchange Board of India, alleging misappropriation of funds of the company and its units.
The Singh brothers have been at the centre of multiple controversies, including alleged financial fraud at Religare and Fortis, and were also taken to court by Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo Co for enforcement of a arbitration award of nearly 2,600 crore by a Singapore tribunal in a case involving their former company Ranbaxy Laboratories. Including interest, the arbitration amount is to the tune of around ₹3,500 crore.
Source: Livemint
