DHFL Money Laundering: Court Refuses Bail Arvind Bhosle

A special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court refused Bail to a Pune Based Businessman Avinash Bhosle. The court stated that there is clear evidence to suggest that he fraudulently obtained over Rs 71 crore from DHFL (Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited) without any legitimate business transactions.

The court also rejected Bhosle’s bail plea on medical grounds, pointing out that he has been receiving adequate treatment in the hospital, as per his wishes, and according to doctors, he does not suffer from any life-threatening disease.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took custody of Avinash Bhosle, who is the chairman of ABIL group, in June 2022 in connection with the money laundering case. He had previously been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a corruption case involving Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor and Kapil Wadhawan of DHFL.

During the CBI probe into the Yes Bank-DHFL bank fraud case, Avinash Bhosle’s role as a middleman came under scrutiny. He allegedly received kickbacks of more than Rs 360 crore from another real estate developer for facilitating loans from DHFL, which later turned into non-performing assets.

The court’s order highlighted that Wadhawan, through DHFL, had illicitly diverted public money amounting to Rs 71.82 crore to Bhosle and his entities. The funds were given to Bhosle in multiple tranches under the pretext of fee/consultancy charges, but there was no evidence of similar services provided to any other projects.

The court deemed this as a clear indication of a fraudulent scheme involving the Wadhawans, DHFL, Sanjay Chhabaria, and Bhosle. These transactions appeared to be integral steps in generating proceeds of crime (POC) and facilitating money laundering.

Despite Bhosle’s prolonged hospitalization since his arrest, the court noted that the medical reports did not indicate any life-threatening sickness or illness. Therefore, the court rejected his bail plea, emphasizing the seriousness of the charges and the need for him to remain in custody.