Rs 4,122 crore DHFL scam: CBI files FIR in UP provident fund case

ED had filed an FIR in December 2019

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR in the alleged multi-crore UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) employees’ provident fund (PF) scam in which Rs 4,122 crore were illegally invested in private mortgage lender Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL).

This comes more than two months after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had filed a case in this regard even as the UP economic offenses wing (EOW) was also conducting a probe.

Meanwhile, the CBI registered a case at the Hazratganj police station in Lucknow last night. In November 2019, the EOW had registered an FIR after the alleged scam had come to light prompting chief minister Yogi Adityanath to recommend a CBI probe.

So far, the EOW had arrested 16 accused, including serving and retired UPPCL officials, stock brokers etc, in the case. Last month, the EOW had arrested SMC deputy director Alok Garg and another senior official Mahesh Gupta after establishing their alleged complicity of brokerage in the purported scam.

So far, while EOW was probing the alleged criminal conspiracy and unauthorised investment of the PF corpus in DHFL, the ED seeks to unearth any money laundering syndication.

In this case, Rs 4,122 crore was parked with DHFL between March 2017 and December 2018, of which about Rs 2,267 crore are still outstanding with the company, which has been barred by the Bombay High Court from making fresh repayments owing to another ongoing ED probe into money laundering.

The funds were channelised in installments through 28 brokerage or bogus firms allegedly in connivance with the officials managing the two UPPCL PF trusts, although such investment was allegedly against norms.

In November 2019, the EOW had arrested then UPPCL managing director A P Mishra, now retired, apart from suspended officials Praveen Kumar Gupta and Sudhanshu Dwivedi in the case. Besides, those arrested included chartered accounts (CA) and the owners of brokerage or bogus investment firms.

Later, the Adityanath government had promised to ensure the payment of outstanding amount with DHFL if the non-banking financial company (NBFC) failed to fulfil its commitment.

While, Rs 4,122 crore was invested in DHFL, the corpus was also parked in LIC Housing Finance and PNB Housing Finance with the investments in the three NBFCs totalling Rs 6,600 crore.

Meanwhile, the state has started the process of disinvesting PF corpus in LIC Housing and PNB Housing.