Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL) has appointed an independent chartered accountant firm to verify the allegations made by Cobrapost and submit a report.
This comes even as the company’s shares continued to take a beating on the bourses , sliding 15.93 per cent on Thursday to close at ₹135.85 apiece, following reports that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is likely to probe allegations of financial misconduct against the company.
Since the beginning of September 2018, when the IL&FS imbroglio started having a ripple effect on the financial system, DHFL’s shares have fallen from ₹678.45 to ₹135.85, nosediving 80 per cent.
DHFL informed the exchanges that it has not received any communication from the MCA in relation to any probe against it.
The controversy has raised concerns over the exposure of banks and mutual funds to DHFL. According to Cobrapost, the losers in the process would mainly be public sector banks such as SBI and Bank of Baroda, with an exposure of over ₹11,000 crore and 4,000 crore, respectively. Foreign banks and DHFL shareholders will also lose out, it said.
At a press meet on January 29, the news portal accused the primary promoters of DHFL of siphoning off more than ₹31,000 crore of public money through secured loans and advances to shell companies, round-tripping and insider trading.
The company’s management, in an investor call on January 30, alleged that the portal’s so-called ‘expose’ is based on a frivolous complaint filed by one Vikas Shekhar, who claimed to be a DHFL shareholder. They added that Shekhar is neither a shareholder of nor a lender to DHFL.
As at December-end 2018, DHFL’s promoter group collectively held 39.21 per cent in the company.