Mauritius-based firm claimed HDIL had cheated it in project

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The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police continues to discover wrong doings by the accused held in the PMC Bank scam. Sources said that a Mauritius-based private equity firm has filed a complaint with EOW against HDIL, for cheating them in its plush high-rise, Kaledonia, project. The complaint was made to EOW much before the PMC Bank fraud surfaced.

The EOW has also found some documents during the course of investigation, which suggest that HDIL promoters gifted several flats and commercial spaces in Kaledonia, in Andheri East, to politicians' kin. The Enforcement Directorate has also found the same. According to sources these politicians used to hold important portfolios in the central as well as state government.

"We are verifying all the details of HDIL projects and their investments that have surfaced so far in the investigation," an EOW officer said. According to sources, the Wadhawans, the owners of HDIL, are now blaming the bad economy for the entire crisis saying real estate is going through a very bad phase. They claimed they didn't do anything wrong, all their money is invested in real estate projects.

The agency has also found some business investments of Wariyam Singh in the USA, UK and Canada. According to sources, the PMC chairman has a bungalow each in the UK and USA, and a hotel in Canada in the name of his son. The EOW has also found that PMC managing director Joy Thomas has four flats in Pune besides other property investments. The Wadhawans have a bungalow in London, EOW officials said.

Bigger defaulters saved?

An officer told mid-day, "There is a possibility that Thomas and other accused PMC officials saved big defaulters other than HDIL." According to EOW officials, after the PMC scam surfaced, investors of HDIL wrote to them. "The complaints mention that after the arrest of the Wadhawans, their projects in which they (investors) had invested have stopped now. We have forwarded these complaints to the housing dept of EOW. If any merit is found in the complaints, action will be taken," the official said.

'Meeting with FM not fruitful, protest to continue'

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met angry customers of the PMC Bank on Thursday in Mumbai. According to the customers, the meeting which went on for around 15 minutes led to some promises by her towards similar issues in general. A depositor, Harbhajan Singh, said, "The minister made many promises that the issue will be resolved and they are taking precautions to ensure no similar scam occurs in future. In the case of PMC Bank we were just told that RBI will follow the law and due procedures." Customers said the meeting was not fruitful and so their protest will continue.

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