The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed a charge sheet before a Delhi court against former Fortis Healthcare promoters Malvinder and Shivinder Singh as well as former chairman and managing director of Religare Enterprises Ltd Sunil Godhwani for alleged financial fraud at Religare Finvest Ltd. The court took cognisance of the charge sheet and issued production warrant against them for January 20. All the three accused are currently in judicial custody.
“We have learnt that the Enforcement Directorate has filed its charge sheet today and we are encouraged by this development, which brings to fruition, over 18 months of intensive effort and hard work of bringing to book the perpetrators of the frauds," Religare Enterprises said in a statement on Friday.
The Singh brothers were arrested in October, along with former Godhwani and two other people, for allegedly causing wrongful loss worth ₹2,397 crore to Religare Finvest Ltd. The complaint was filed by Religare Enterprises and its arm in 2018.
The brothers are in judicial custody in Tihar jail since then. Malvinder Singh was also formerly arrested by the EOW last month for another case of alleged fraud at Religare Finvest.
The brothers were promoters of Religare Enterprises and hospital operator Fortis Healthcare till February 2018. Godhwani was CMD of Religare Enterprises till 2016.
The chargesheet follows a steady fall from grace for the Singh brothers, whose business empire was worth billions of rupees till a few years ago.
Now, apart from being in jail due to the Religare Enterprises complaint, they are also facing contempt proceedings in the Supreme Court over payment of ₹3,500 crore arbitration award to Daiichi Sankyo, as well as another case of alleged fund siphoning at Fortis.
They are also under the scanner of Securities and Exchange Board of India, Serious Frauds Investigation Office and other authorities for the alleged Religare and Fortis frauds.
