Non-bank lender Sammaan Capital on Tuesday clarified it was a “victim” and not an accused in the alleged financial irregularities involving its erstwhile promoter Sameer Gehlaut and several corporate groups, after the Supreme Court directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to examine the allegations.
The company said it was treated as a victim of the alleged quid pro quo arrangements involving Gehlaut and five corporate groups, and that investigating agencies had found no wrongdoing on its part.
Shares of Sammaan Capital, formerly Indiabulls Housing Finance promoted by Gehlaut, fell more than 5% to a near three-month low of ₹145 on the NSE following the Supreme Court’s order, before paring losses to close 2.2% lower at ₹150.23.
“Sammaan Capital was not an accused and was looked at as a victim of the alleged quid pro quo arrangements, if any, between the above borrower groups and Mr. (Sameer) Gehlaut and his promoter entities,” the company said in a statement.
The ₹8,000 crore allegations
A public interest litigation filed by the Citizens Whistle Blower Forum way back in 2019 before the Delhi High Court alleged that Gehlaut had extended dubious loans worth about ₹8,000 crore to major business groups, which then allegedly channelled those funds to promoter-owned entities to illegitimately build personal wealth. The case moved to the Supreme Court after the high court refused to order a court-monitored probe in 2024.
Based on the allegations, the top court directed the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) to file a case. The FIR, registered on 15 December 2025, named Gehlaut and the five corporate groups as accused. The petition relied on Enforcement Directorate's findings that alleged suspicions loan transactions, diversion of funds, share-price manipulation and evergreening of loans involving Indiabulls-linked entities.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner before a bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, cited a central bank circular stating that bank frauds involving more than ₹50 crore should be investigated by the CBI.
Sammaan refutes wrongdoing
In a media call on Tuesday evening, Sammaan Capital’s advocate Nalin Kohli said that his client is a respondent in the PIL and not an accused, and that the investigating agencies have found no wrongdoing by the non-bank lender in its transactions. He added that the company has subsequently received around ₹11,000 crore against repayment of these loans, including interest, and that the accounts were closed with no indication of wrongdoing. As a result, there could be no public loss or fraud arising from these transactions.
In a status report filed on 11 August, the EOW said Sammaan Capital had recovered all the money it had lent to the five groups. Indiabulls Housing Finance had extended loans of around ₹8,000 crore to the corporate entities.
“There is no question of any banking irregularity and certainly no question of any fraud. And on whether it is RBI or NHB or…we’ve got a clean chit everywhere, Kohli said. “There is, of course, the CBI has moved an application on one particular transaction related to the erstwhile promoter and the erstwhile promoter of YES Bank. That is something totally different,” he said, adding that this investigation pertains to allegations concerning Gehlaut, his promoter companies and YES Bank.
The CBI is investigating transactions among the companies of erstwhile promoters of Yes Bank including Rana Kapoor, and those of Gehlaut. It has approached the Special Court in Mumbai seeking permission for further investigation given that a chargesheet has already been filed, and the CBI needs the court’s permission to conduct further investigation. The matter before the special CBI court is scheduled for 24 August.
A new promoter, a separate case
Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday quashed separate Enforcement Directorate proceedings against Sammaan Capital in a money-laundering case, finding that the matter was unrelated to the case pending before the Supreme Court and instead concerned an alleged Indiabulls-Yes Bank fraud, reports said.
Sammaan Capital has “no connection whatsoever” with Gehlaut, and that the company operates under an entirely new promoter, which has committed to invest $1 billion in the company and now controls the company's board, it said in the statement.
Gehlaut ceased to be a promoter and divested his entire shareholding in Indiabulls Housing Finance in late 2023, after which it was renamed Sammaan Capital effective July 2024.
In March 2026, Abu Dhabi-based International Holding company (IHC) infused ₹5,652 crore for a 41.5% stake in Sammaan Capital, through its affiliate Avenir Investment RSC, becoming the new promoter. The company is set to receive another ₹3,198 crore over the next 18 months upon conversion of warrants into fully paid equity shares, raising IHC’s stake to up to 63.3%.
In March 2026, Abu Dhabi-based International Holding company (IHC) infused ₹5,652 crore acquiring 28.3% stake in the company through its affiliate Avenir Investment RSC, which became the new promoter. The company is set to receive another ₹3,198 crore in tranches over the next 13 months, following which IHC's stake will increase to 41.5%, on a fully diluted basis.