Grant Thornton audit of IL&FS group company shows Rs 2,364 crore given to promoters, directors

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating the alleged money laundering of Rs 2,364 crore from the books of IL&FS Financial Service Limited (IFIN), identified in a forensic audit performed by Grant Thornton.

Moneycontrol has reviewed the interim Grant Thornton report which was submitted to the new board of IL&FS on February 20.

The ED is investigating instances where funds lent to borrowers of IFIN, were utilised to provide funds to certain group companies of IL&FS (primarily ITNL). Based on the unapproved minutes of the IL&FS board meeting held on September 11, 2018, it appears that the then Board of Directors and certain members of the board who were part of the Committee of Directors were allegedly aware that the loans provided to third parties had been forwarded or lent to IL&FS group companies.

As per the forensic audit, "Certain companies of IL&FS Group (that were available) and were identified following instances amounting to INR 2,270 crores where they have received funds from the third party to whom IFIN has lent loans.”

The Grant Thornton audit claimed, ITNL received Rs 1,150 crore, Srinagar Sonmarg Tunnelway limited got Rs 390 crores, Gujarat Integrated Maritime Complex received Rs 250 crores, Fagne- Songard Expressway received loans of Rs 200 crore, Chennai-Nashri Tunnel Way received Rs 150 crore, Sea Land Port and Sitar Bikaner got loans of worth Rs 100 crore and Rs 30 crore, respectively. SREI, Empower, Vistar, GHV, PCL, Sangam and Dynamatic had allegedly transferred loan to these companies.

The ED is investigating at least six instances where nearly Rs 100 crore in loans disbursed to borrowers were transferred to their promoters or directors.

A source told Moneycontrol, "We have found two main instances of possible money laundering in IL&FS as per mentioned in Grant Thornton report.”

The audit firm revealed that “certain amount of loan which was disbursed by IFIN to borrowers, were directly utilised to pay the latter’s promoters or directors”.

As per the report, IFIN disbursed Rs 25 crore to group company Gateway Distriparks, which lent it to Prism International Private Limited. However, Prem Kishan Gupta who is director in Prism International received Rs 7.50 crore in September 2016 from that amount.

In similar incident, IFIN had lent Rs 75 crore in October 2017 to Prism, which was again forwarded to Gupta in the form of loan. Similarly, group company Flemingo received loans of up to Rs 514.50 crore and directors of the company, Kabir and Viren Ahuja received Rs 8.81 crore.

IL&FS Energy Development Company Limited director also got Rs 2.95 crores. Siddhartha Dinesh Mishra who is one of promoter of Bay Capital got loan from IFIN in Indus Equicap Consultancy private limited".

In one of the cases, it was noted that Siddharth Dinesh Mehta, who is a promoter of group Bay Capital and director at IL&FS Energy Development Company Limited, had received Rs 2.95 crore in a similar manner.