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Mumbai Police have registered a fresh First Information Report against former Lodha Developers director Rajendra Lodha and five others in connection with an alleged fraud of ₹6.67 crore. The case, filed on October 22 at the NM Joshi Marg police station following a complaint by the real estate company, accuses Lodha of abusing his corporate position to tie a land development transaction in Bhiwandi to the allotment of an upscale residential flat in South Mumbai. The developer claims the complex arrangement resulted in substantial financial losses, prompting an ongoing police inquiry into the transactions.
Questionable Brokerage and Flat Adjustments in 2019 Deal
According to the complaint, the alleged irregularities date back to 2019, when Rajendra Lodha facilitated a development agreement involving a parcel of land in Bhiwandi and paid ₹8.5 lakh as initial brokerage. Shortly afterward, he brought Sacvir Builders and Developers LLP into the arrangement after its directors expressed an interest in buying an apartment in Lodha Developers’ South Mumbai residential project.
The FIR details that the South Mumbai property carried an original valuation of ₹6.86 crore, but Lodha allegedly authorized a ₹1.50 crore discount, bringing the effective price down to ₹5.36 crore. Although the directors of Sacvir Builders paid ₹36 lakh directly to Lodha Developers, Lodha allegedly informed the firm that Sacvir Builders had served as a broker in the Bhiwandi transaction and secured a clear, marketable title. He valued those purported brokerage services at ₹5 crore and directed that this amount be adjusted against the pending balance for the South Mumbai flat before formal allotment took place.
Internal Scrutiny Reveals Millions in Unaccounted Payments
The company’s complaint further outlines payments made to another individual, Nitin Narayan Keni, whom Lodha identified as being in possession of the Bhiwandi land parcel. Acting on that representation, Lodha Developers paid Keni ₹17 lakh. Internal reviews of financial files from Lodha’s tenure later raised red flags regarding the validity of the land deal, the brokerage credits, and the flat transfer, culminating in an estimated total loss of ₹6.67 crore.
Police registered the case under Sections 318(3), 318(4), 316(5), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Investigating officers are scrutinizing the complete documentation trails, focusing on the valuation metrics used for the purported brokerage services and the formal title deeds for the Bhiwandi land. All claims remain subject to police inquiry and judicial findings.
Existing Incarceration and Expanding Money Laundering Probes
The latest action adds to an expanding web of legal troubles for the former director, who remains in judicial custody over prior allegations of massive corporate fraud. In September 2025, Mumbai Police arrested Lodha following an initial complaint by the developer alleging an ₹85 crore fraud. That inquiry, handled by the Property Cell of the Crime Branch, resulted in a chargesheet in December 2025 that escalated the estimated fraud figure to ₹181 crore.
The Enforcement Directorate subsequently launched a parallel investigation into suspected money laundering. In March, the central agency told a special court in Mumbai that the alleged proceeds of crime stood at roughly ₹370 crore, stemming from fraudulent land deals, barter pacts, unrecorded cash takings from flat buyers, and fund layering through multiple front entities. The agency later formally arrested Lodha in that case. Investigators in the latest matter are working to determine how the Bhiwandi transactions fit into the wider set of corporate dealings scrutinized during his executive tenure.
