The Enforcement Directorate has registered a money laundering case against media baron Subhash Chandra over an alleged loan fraud that caused a ₹1,322 crore loss to Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance Limited, according to officials cited by PTI. The case has been filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after the agency took cognisance of a Central Bureau of Investigation FIR.
The allegations centre on two loans totalling ₹980 crore that LICHFL sanctioned to companies linked to Chandra. The lender’s complaint, which forms part of the CBI case, alleges that Chandra submitted inflated net-worth certificates to secure approval and disbursal of the facilities. The loans later went into default, according to the complaint.
One facility, worth ₹500 crore, was extended to Vasant Sagar Properties Private Limited, with Pan India Infra Projects Private Limited as co-borrower. LICHFL described it as a home-entity loan intended for takeover, top-up and business expansion. The facility was secured by a continuing guarantee executed by Chandra on March 28, 2018, according to the FIR.
The second facility, worth ₹480 crore, was extended to Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services Private Limited, with Spirit Infra Power and Multi Ventures Private Limited as co-borrower. It was sanctioned as a rental-discounting facility under a rental-securitisation scheme through a separate loan account and was also backed by a continuing guarantee executed by Chandra, the FIR alleged.
LICHFL’s complaint alleges that one net-worth certificate issued by DJM and Co on March 28, 2018, placed Chandra’s net worth at about ₹59,000 crore. A second certificate issued by MPJ and Co on July 6, 2018, valued his net worth at ₹40,562 crore. The lender alleged that these certifications were used in the decision to sanction the facilities.
The case also intersects with insolvency proceedings involving Chandra’s personal estate. LICHFL was among the lenders that approached the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal against a recent National Company Law Tribunal repayment plan under which creditors would recover about ₹6.5 crore from the estate against claims of approximately ₹22,006 crore.
The CBI complaint states that Chandra later denied having the net worth recorded in the certificates submitted to LICHFL. During insolvency proceedings, he reportedly placed his net worth at ₹31.79 crore in 2024 and at no more than ₹40,000 crore in 2017-18, the FIR said. The complaint alleges that Chandra acted in collusion with the borrowing companies and their officers and directors, and that false documents were created to induce LICHFL to deploy funds.
The allegations have not been established in court. A comment from Chandra was awaited, according to the report. The ED’s registration of the PMLA case follows the earlier CBI action on LICHFL’s complaint, with the investigation now proceeding under the agency’s money-laundering framework.
