Mumbai, Apr 15 () The Enforcement Directorate onWednesday moved the Bombay High Court seeking cancellation ofbail of DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan, who is an accused in amoney laundering case, for violating his bail conditions andtravelling during the coronavirus lockdown.
Advocate Purnima Kantharia of the EnforcementDirectorate (ED) mentioned the application before high courtJustice P D Naik.
The court then issued notice to Wadhawan and postedthe matter for further hearing on April 23.
Kapil Wadhawan, the 46-year-old chairman and managingdirector of Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL), was arrestedon January 27 this year by the ED for his dubious dealingswith gangster Iqbal, who died in 2013, and was booked underprovisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act IPMLA).
He was granted bail on February 21 by a special PMLAcourt in Mumbai.
Kapil Wadhawan, his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan and otherfamily members travelled to their farmhouse at Mahabaleshwarhill station in Maharashtra's Satara district last week, inalleged breach of the lockdown imposed to check the spread ofcoronavirus.
Subsequently, the ED on Friday issued orders forseizure of five luxury vehicles in which they travelled toMahabaleshwar from Khandala.
The Wadhawan brothers and 21 others, including theirfamily members, are at present in quarantine in Mahabaleshwar.
Kantharia said the ED sought an urgent hearing of itsapplication after it came to light that Kapil Wadhawanviolated the conditions imposed upon him by the special PMLAcourt while granting him bail.
"The accused (Kapil Wadhawan) was directed to appearregularly before the ED to ensure he does not leave the city.However, it was recently learnt that he travelled outside thecity and thus, violated the bail conditions, Kantharia said.
She said this was an added ground for the prosecutionto seek urgent hearing into its application requestingcancellation of bail granted to Wadhawan.
According to the ED, Kapil Wadhawan laundered moneyfrom DHFL as part of an illegal property deal with Mirchi.
It alleged that Rs 12,773 crore was siphoned off fromDHFL on the pretext of providing loans to one lakh fictitiouscustomers.
A part of this loan was used to make payments toMirchi, who died in 2013 in London, the agency claimed.
As per the ED's case, Mirchis properties in Mumbaiwere sold to Sunblink Real Estate Private Limited, a companylinked to Kapil Wadhawan and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan. SPGK GK