“I approached their office on seeing the advertisement,” said the woman, a resident of New Delhi who declined to be named. She said she chose two plots—400 sq. m in Canary City which, according to UKLI’s website, is within the administrative area of Bromley in south London, and 200 sq. m in Borehamwood, a town in southern Hertfordshire outside London.
“I had saved that money for my kids,” said the investor, who has two children aged 16 and 21. She said she would have to depend on her sisters for help if she doesn’t see the money again.
She said she had approached UKLI’s India office in Gurgaon seeking a refund in August 2007. “They said I will get back my money in 14 days. But I am yet to receive it.”
UKLI’s Indian arm, which ran its operations from an office in Gurgaon near Delhi, has since closed.
The sole shareholder of UKLI is Baljinder Chohan, according to the transcript of the creditors’ meeting. “We believe that Baljinder Chohan is now residing in Dubai, but are not in a position to confirm his fixed whereabouts,” Deloitte said. Phone calls to Chohan or his private assistant, Carrie Lynch, on their Dubai numbers were not answered.
Duped: Raj Kumar Sharma paid Rs5 lakh to UKLI. Ramesh Pathania / Mint
The directors of UKLI Real Estate have distanced themselves from the insolvent parent. Prominent among the directors was Samta Khinda, daughter of Baba Hardev Singh, head of the Nirankari sect, according to some investors. Khinda did not take calls from
Mint reporters. Her husband, Sandeep, however, said: “We never had anything to do with UKLI.”
Samta Khinda’s lawyer in Delhi, who requested anonymity, however, said: “She used to be a shareholder in the company (UKLI Real Estate) but has (now) discontinued.” The lawyer did not specify when she had ceased to be a shareholder.
Another company director rejected this claim. “Baljinder Chohan cannot directly open his company in India because he is a UK citizen and so he co-registered the company in Samta Khinda’s name,” said the director, asking not to be named. He, however, said UKLI management based in the UK was taking care of the dues it owed to employees and clients.
“They are sending emails to creditors and employees to settle dues. There is pressure from Babaji to clear the dues,” he said, referring to Hardev Singh.
Profit motive
Greed motivated investors. But some were lucky—or wise—enough to limit their losses.
Raj Kumar Sharma, a resident of Gurgaon, who himself deals in real estate in India, wanted to buy 50 plots in Borehamwood and New Addington. “I was interested in reselling them at a profit,” said Sharma. He paid Rs5 lakh to UKLI as a security deposit. “I wanted to personally verify the property before paying the full price.”
In January this year, Sharma visited the UK. He went to the land registrar’s office in Croydon, the borough under which New Addington falls. The land registrar, who hails from Haryana himself, advised him to stay clear of UKLI. “The registrar told me that in the UK, it is not possible to lobby for land conversion,” said Sharma, who has since been writing to UKLI seeking a refund of his investment.
Another investor, Harkawal Setia, said he figured out the “fraud” when UKLI stopped taking his calls. He had made an initial payment of Rs3 lakh by then.