MUMBAI: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of city police filed a closure report with the court in the Mack Star Marketing fraud case, where it was alleged that the Wadhawans of HDIL illegally and fraudulently transferred a commercial property of Mack Star located in the Kaledonia building in Andheri to different individuals/firms without any actual payment or on nominal payment. The individuals/firms included kin of politicians, including a former chief minister.
It was alleged that the Wadhawans cheated Mack Star Marketing by illegally selling the aforementioned properties without consent of the majority shareholder (DE Shaw Group, which holds 83.36% shares) of Mack Star Marketing. It was alleged that Kaledonia was constructed by Mack Star Marketing, which was controlled by the Wadhawans despite being minority stakeholders.
The company spent Rs 1,000 crore in 2008 to construct the building. Between 2011 and 2016, the Wadhawans took a Rs 200 crore loan from Yes Bank in the name of Kaledonia without the knowledge of other stakeholders and used part of the loan money to repay dues of their companies to Yes Bank.
The EOW report said that the conflict between two business partners was purely civil, finding no fraudulent conduct in the allocation of office spaces in the Kaledonia building by Rakesh Wadhawan. The EOW closure report stated, “There was no evidence suggesting criminal act, so the alleged crime is neither true nor false.”
In the closure report, EOW referenced a Registrar of Companies (ROC) report submitted to NCLT stating that the Article of Association (though which partners entered into agreement) was established after violating the law (which benefited the accused). The report was issued by ROC deputy director Sai Shankar Landa, though the department later withdrew it lagter in a separate case.
Citing an HC order about unit sale disputes, the report noted, “As per the terms of Mack Star’s Articles, the Wadhawan Directors had the unrestricted authority to enter into contracts for the sale of units in the office building owned by Mack Star. They did not require any notification to the Investor or prior approval, provided that such sales occurred in the ‘ordinary course of business.'”
The ED previously scrutinised relatives of politicians and arrested the nephew of Vasai Virar neta Hitendra Thakur in a related investigation. ED had also probed the son-in-law of ex-CM Sushil Kumar Shinde in the case. EOW’s closure effectively weakens ED’s money laundering case, which was founded on the police investigation.
The EOW stated that HDIL directors and group companies held sales rights for Kaledonia units. It is learned HDIL executed a significant slum redevelopment project nearby and managed saleable components for profit recovery, including Kaledonia, a commercial property in Andheri.
Source Homevior.in
