ED seizes five DHFL promoter-owned luxury vehicles that violated lockdown

The Wadhawan brothers and their kin used the cars to travel to their farmhouse in Mahabaleshwar in order to dodge agencies investing the Yes bank-Rana Kapoor kickback case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday confiscated five high-end vehicles belonging to the promoters of Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) in connection with the money laundering probe against them in the Yes bank-Rana Kapoor kickback case.

The promoter family used these luxury during the Covid-19 induced lockdown to travelling to their farmhouse in Mahabaleshwar, a hill station in Maharastra. The Wadhawan brothers and their kin were travelling in two Range Rover and three Toyota Fortuner cars.

According to the ED seizure order, DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan are the beneficial owners of the high-end vehicles. “Investigation revealed that these vehicles are proceeds of crime in terms of provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act,” the order said.

The order has been sent to the Satara Superintendent of Police for execution, as the Wadhawan duo have been put under quarantine by the Satara administration due to Covid-19.

Amid the sealing of borders in the view of pandemic, the Wadhawan duo, who were untraceable by central agencies in the Yes bank matter managed to escape the city along with 21 family members.

Sources say that all this while, the Wadhawans were staying at a rental house near Khandala until lockdown was announced. After that, they had changed their location to escape the ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe in the ongoing case. The rental house has been taken by them to escape arrest in the matter.

According to the CBI, the Wadhawan brothers had been “absconding” right from the beginning of the probe. “Searches were conducted at the premises of the accused in early March but none of them was available. Therefore, in order to secure their presence, the notices were also issued to them. Even then they avoided joining the investigation, said CBI.

Consequently, a non-bailable warrant was issued by the special court of CBI on March 17 against the duo. But even after its issuance, they have not appeared before the CBI or the court.

On Thursday, the central agency had received information about their location. The CBI said it then reached out the police and Satara district and asked them to not release the brothers.

The Wadhawans have been on the radar of central agencies in at least three cases including the PMC bank fraud, property dealings with gangster Iqbal Memon and the Yes Bank-Rana Kapoor kickback case.