In a case of alleged misappropriation of funds from Religare, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has given a clean chit to the Dabur Group promoters, the Burmans. On the other hand, ED has implicated Religare Group Chairperson, Rashmi Saluja and other senior officials and has accused them of plotting a criminal conspiracy against the Burmans.
In the 2023 case, ED investigated the first information report (FIR) filed against the Burmans regarding the alleged misappropriation of funds. ED recorded the statement of Chairperson Mohit Burman. During the probe, the agency investigated the officials of Religare Group which includes the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nitin Aggarwal and later the agency searched the premises of Saluja.
As per media reports, the investigation by the agency revealed that Vaibhav Gawli, a private individual, was allegedly paid an amount of Rs 2 lakh to buy 500 shares of Religare worth Rs 1.20 lakh. Gawli was asked to file a complaint against the Burman family and was offered the remaining amount of Rs 80,000 to do the same.
The complaint with Matunga Police was allegedly made to prevent the Burmans from having control over Religare Group. In addition, the move was aimed at protecting their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) shares which amounted to around Rs 179.5 crore, as per the reports.
In August, ED officials carried out a search operation at four premises in Delhi and Gurugram which were related to Religare and froze the ESOP shares which were held in the accounts of Saluja and others. During the investigation, it came to light that Gawli had registered the complaint not on his own, but on the directions of Saluja and other officials of Religare.
_20241105142833_original_image_22.webp)