DSQ Software Group Founder Dinesh Dalmia Accused Of Duping 9 Banks Of ₹200 Crore: Report

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "DSQ Software group founder Dinesh Dalmia, who was previously jailed for fraud, stock manipulation, and other legal transgressions in India and the US, has been accused of fraudulent activities per a detailed report by Moneylife, Dalmia's alleged fraudulent activities have not only defrauded nine banks and financial institutions of a staggering ₹200 crore but have also potentially ensnared several others in his intricate schemes this time, the founder has denied all the accusations. He maintains his stance as a \"victim\" and a \"scapegoat,\" denying any involvement or knowledge regarding the dairy business, which is central to the alleged fraud. Furthermore, he expresses confidence that no documentation will implicate him in borrowing from the nine financial entities read: Indian national Waibhav Anil Kale dies in Gaza amid Israel-Hamas war: Who was he?As per the Moneylife report, Dalmia asserts that no document bearing his name or any transaction directly linked to him exists, and he has not signed any paperwork. Moreover, a forensic audit conducted by six lenders has revealed only a weak connection to him. Despite this, a First Information Report (FIR) lodged by Vivriti Capital Limited (Vivriti) on April 6, 2024, in Chennai lists him as the prime accused of criminal breach of trust, conspiracy, cheating, and forgery's grievance is directed towards a company known as Right Health Platter Private Limited (RHP), established in January 2020, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequently, a cluster of affiliated entities, established between 2020 and 2023, emerged with shared directors, one with a strikingly similar name-Right Health Products Private Limited. This pattern aligns with Dinesh Dalmia's historical approach: establishing numerous companies with closely resembling names FIR filed by Vivriti implicates several individuals, including Dinesh Dalmia, Gopal Padia, Ramnath Arumugam, Pankaj Dalmia, and Yekulu Venkata Subbiah, Murali Babu. These individuals are allegedly part of a group of companies collaborating to deceive Indian lenders. Their roles as directors, investors, or key management figures in RHP have been questioned, with some claiming they were influenced or misled by Dinesh Dalmia a sequence of events, Dinesh Dalmia, Gopal Padia, and Ramnath Arumugam approached Vivriti in March 2022 for a ₹5.5 crore loan on behalf of RHP. They presented Pankaj Dalmia as a director of RHP and a partner in KPM Fortune Advisors LLP. Dinesh Dalmia, who represented himself as an adviser to Pankaj Dalmia and the COO of RHP until June 2023, provided all corporate information to Vivriti, as stated in the FIR. The other three were listed as directors of RHP. Notably, Vivriti asserts that Mr. Dalmia used the name Dinesh Kumar during this period, which obscured his infamous background, contributing to Vivriti's lack of awareness Padia, a businessman based in Singapore and the owner of Avemore Pte Ltd, a Singaporean company, held a significant stake and served as a director at RHP. He purported to be a customer of RHP and was involved in the importation of its products, although much of this assertion was later found to be untrue read: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif says all state-owned enterprises to be sold to private owners, blames lack of fundsRHP had asserted its involvement in the dairy sector, claiming operational facilities in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Mr Padia informed Vivriti that his company planned substantial investments in RHP to bolster its dairy export endeavours. Additionally, he offered assurances and guaranteed funds borrowed from Vivriti, committing to disclose any intentions to sell his shares, in August 2023, RHP defaulted on its loans. Vivriti later claimed to have discovered that Gopal Padia had resigned from RHP and sold his shares without notifying the lenders. Moreover, substantial sums were allegedly transferred to Singapore-based entities associated with him by RHP in 2023. Padia's assurances regarding the deposit of receivables from specific foreign clients into an escrow account were purportedly deceptive to Vivriti's FIR, the revelation of the fraud occurred only after receiving an email from Dinesh Dalmia (or Kumar) after RHP defaulted. On August 22, 2023, Dinesh Dalmia reached out to Vivriti, shedding light on the discrepancies within RHP regarding the misallocation of company funds by Mr. Gopal Padia and the diversion of these funds to his affiliated companies. The email detailed the transfer of funds to Mr Padia's Singapore-based companies and the actions taken by minority shareholders of RHP, who complained to Mr Padia with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Additionally, it mentioned a complaint filed by RHP against Mr. Padia in Singapore. In essence, Vivriti uncovered that RHP had been channelling funds through its associated/group companies via falsified purchase orders, discounting them through Vivriti Capital, and subsequently transferring the funds to its related entities August 2023, eight additional lenders became aware of Dinesh Kumar/Dalmia's fraudulent activities. These lenders, who had provided loans, bill discounting, and other facilities to RHP, were Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI Global Factor Limited, Fincare Small Finance Bank, Maglix Labs Private Limited, IndusInd Bank, and Bank of Maharashtra. Additionally, an email was sent to IIFL Finance Ltd read: 'Countries that go to court to decide elections give us gyan': Jaishankar hits back at Western mediaBy September-October 2023, three lenders had officially declared RHP as a fraudulent account. Subsequently, six lenders formed a joint lenders forum (JLF) under the leadership of Axis Bank. VCAN and Company (VCAN) from Gujarat were appointed to conduct a forensic audit of RHP. Interestingly, IndusInd and Bank of Maharashtra chose not to participate in the audit or share documents. Furthermore, IIFL Finance was not included in the audit process but provided an unsecured loan of ₹10 lakh at 22% interest Dalmia further asserts that the most significant borrowings, fund transfers, and overseas transactions occurred after he resigned from RHP and a limited liability partnership named KMP Fortune Advisors on March 29, 2023. He has devised flowcharts illustrating the diversion of funds from primary lenders through a network of entities, as outlined in the forensic audit report by VCAN VCAN audit uncovered two categories of RHP-associated entities. Firstly, those directly linked to RHP feature joint directors such as Gopal Padia, Pankaj Dalmia, and Ramnath Arumugam. These entities include KMP Fortune Advisors LLP, Raadin Health Food Private Limited, Wegan House Private Limited, and Right Health Product Private Limited. Additional entities utilized for money routing purposes consist of Kamadhenu Beverages Pvt Ltd, Exemplar Dealcom Pvt Ltd, and three private entities named Arrowline Food N Beverages, Arrowline Organic Products, and Arrowline Dairy Products, among numerous others. Most of these entities were established between 2020 and 2022 and engaged in financial transactions forensic audit revealed a complex web of companies designed to obfuscate transactions and facilitate cross-border fund transfers aimed at diverting funds and deceiving lenders. Notably, an amount of ₹55.60 crore was swiftly transferred from an HDFC Bank account to Eurotrade, Springbok, and Grove Trading in Singapore, which \"appear related and under the control of Gopal Padia.\" The audit highlights that these overseas transfers were hastily executed and grouped rather than representing regular business transactions read: IEA vs OPEC: IEA widens gap with OPEC on oil demand projections for 2024; June policy decision eyedVCAN additionally verified payments made by RHP to Gopal Padia's entities in Singapore, including Grove Trading Ptd, Euro Trade Management Services, Springbok Pte, and others. The investigation also reveals instances where Gopal Padia used the name Gopal Krishna, a component of his full name Gopal Krishna Padia. Furthermore, it cites emails from Grove and Springbok to the lenders asserting that RHP is affiliated with 'Dinesh Dalmia' and labelling him as a 'known history-sheeter' while refuting any involvement with RHP November 2023, Axis Bank inspected RHP's premises in MIDC, Baramati, near Pune, where alarming signs of a deceptive operation with fraudulent intentions were discovered. The inspection revealed a complete absence of stocks, invoices, operational activities, officials, or staff. Additionally, fixed assets were found to be rented but unused, while power and fuel supplies had been discontinued, and the company operated solely from rented premises. This belated inspection made lenders realise that they had fallen victim to a sophisticated fraudster. The recurrence of such incidents is a remarkable narrative in its own right, underscoring the persistence of fraudulent schemes perpetrated by skilled individuals.(Inputs taken from Moneylife)

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