Tale of the treacherous trio: How Amrapali owners diverted homebuyers money

The promoters had diverted over Rs 5,000 crore through bogus methods like loans and advances between group firms at inflated rates and unaccounted transfer of funds to the promoters.

Nearly three years before the promoters of Amrapali Group were put behind bars for defrauding homebuyers, former cricketer Mohammed Kaif had raised a red flag. In April 2016, alleging financial irregularities by the group, Kaif had dragged its three key directors — Anil Kumar Sharma, Ajay Kumar and Shiv Priya — to court.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, star cricketer and Amrapali’s brand ambassador for years, had severed ties with the group a few days before that, even as a social media campaign raged against the group for the non-delivery of flats.

Meanwhile, the three key promotes had been busy diverting homebuyers’