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NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against media entrepreneur and former Rajya Sabha member Subhash Chandra over an alleged loan fraud that reportedly caused a loss of Rs 1,322 crore to LIC Housing Finance Limited. Officials confirmed the development on Monday, stating that the agency initiated the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after taking cognisance of a First Information Report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The lender has alleged that Chandra substantially inflated his personal net worth to secure credit facilities amounting to Rs 980 crore through corporate entities, which later turned into non-performing exposures.
Credit Facilities and Disputed Net Worth Certificates
The inquiry centres on two credit facilities sanctioned by the housing finance firm. The first was a Rs 500 crore loan extended to Vasant Sagar Properties Private Limited, with Pan India Infra Projects Private Limited acting as co-borrower, intended to take over existing liabilities and fund business expansion. The second was a Rs 480 crore facility approved under a rental-discounting arrangement for Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services Private Limited, alongside co-borrower Spirit Infra Power and Multi Ventures Private Limited. Both facilities were secured by continuing personal guarantees executed by Chandra in 2018.
LIC Housing Finance stated that the loans were cleared largely on the strength of financial declarations submitted by Chandra, including net worth certificates that are now under scrutiny. A certificate issued by DJM and Co on March 28, 2018, pegged his personal net worth at approximately Rs 59,000 crore, aiding the sanction of the Rs 500 crore facility. A second certificate from MPJ and Co on July 6, 2018, valued his net worth at Rs 40,562 crore for the rental-discounting loan. However, the CBI FIR notes that Chandra later contradicted these figures during corporate insolvency proceedings, stating his net worth for 2017-18 did not exceed Rs 40,000 crore and citing it at Rs 31.79 crore in 2024.
Allegations of Collusion and Misappropriation
The central probe agency has accused Chandra of conspiring with the borrower companies, their directors, and key officers to induce the lender into clearing and disbursing the credit lines. According to the complaint, Chandra and the associated firms secured the funds using documents that reflected exaggerated personal wealth and subsequently misappropriated the advances. The FIR further alleges that false financial documents were prepared and submitted to convince the lender of Chandra’s capacity to guarantee the heavy borrowings.
Investigators from the Enforcement Directorate are now mapping the financial trail of the borrowed sums to identify potential proceeds of crime. The probe will examine how the funds were generated, diverted, and utilised, while also scrutinising the role of specific executives who arranged and managed the credit facilities. A response from Chandra regarding the allegations was awaited at the time of reporting.
Insolvency Disputes and Asset Recovery
The money laundering case comes amid ongoing disputes surrounding Chandra’s personal liabilities under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. LIC Housing Finance is among the institutional creditors that moved the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal to challenge a resolution plan earlier approved by the National Company Law Tribunal.
That approved plan reportedly allows creditors to recover approximately Rs 6.5 crore from Chandra’s personal estate against aggregate admitted claims of around Rs 22,006 crore. The lender’s legal challenge to the recovery package has intensified focus on the unpaid facilities and the trail of pledged assets. All allegations against Chandra and the borrower firms remain subject to investigation and judicial proceedings, and no finding of guilt has been established.
