The Economic Offences Wing of the Delhi Police has arrested two senior officials of Lakshmi Vilas Bank for colluding with the former owners of troubled Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) and misappropriating ₹729 crore of Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL).

“Pradeep Kumar, Regional Head of Delhi Region, who was controlling the business of northern and eastern area, and Anjani Kumar Verma, Assistant Vice-President RMG-Corporate Credit Group at Janpath Branch, Delhi, were arrested,” said a statement by EOW, New Delhi, on Friday.

It said the two were holding senior positions at the bank and, in collusion with the promoters of REL – Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh – deliberately and knowingly did not complete the formalities that are mandatory for the loan transaction to benefit the promoters and accused of RHC Holding Limited and Ranchem Pvt Ltd by extending loan to the entities, which the promoters /accused persons used to square off their liabilities.

‘Further probe on’

“The accused persons will be produced in the court today. Further investigation of the case is in progress,” it further said.

LVB, in its capacity as RFL’s banker, is alleged to have conspired with the former owners – the Singh brothers – to illegally siphon off and misappropriate ₹791 crore from the company.

RFL, in its complaint to the EOW, had alleged that the accused first got the company to make fixed deposits (FDs) of ₹750 crore – ₹400 crore on November 11, 2016, and ₹350 crore on January 9, 2017 – with LVB.

RFL later discovered that LVB had credited the proceeds of the FDs to RFL’s current account and subsequently debited from RFL’s current account, which amounted to ₹723.71 crore without any prior intimation to the company.

The complaint said this was allegedly to square off the debt owed to LVB by two entities – RHC Holding and Ranchem – both owned and controlled by the Singh brothers. An FIR in this regard was registered in 2019.

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