News website Cobrapost said on Tuesday that it has unearthed a Rs 31,000 crore scam involving housing finance company Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd (DHFL).
The scam, said Cobrapost, had been conducted by giving loans and advances to dozens of shell companies without any security. The money, said the website, circled back to DHFL’s promoters, who used it to buy shares and other assets in India and foreign countries, including England, Dubai, Sri Lanka and Mauritius.
The NBFC is led by chairman and managing director Kapil Wadhawan.
DHFL’s shares fell more than 7% on the news—markets had been wary since morning after Cobrapost teased ahead of its afternoon press conference that it had unearthed a scam.
State Bank of India, India’s largest public sector bank, has exposure of more than Rs 11,000 crore to DHFL, Cobrapost said in a press release.
Bank of Baroda is next on the list with an exposure of Rs 4,396 crore.
In an emailed statement, DHFL called the allegations “frivolous” and said that its loans are disbursed in compliance with all regulatory norms.
“The company’s financial statements are submitted to the Stock Exchanges and are in the public domain. DHFL and its group companies are confident of meeting any scrutiny on any aspect of our operations,” it added.
DHFL also said that it received an email with 64 questions from Cobrapost only on Tuesday morning, even though the news website had announced the date of its press conference on Friday.