MUMBAI: On Friday, a special PMLA court in Mumbai remanded Rajendra Lodha, a former director of Lodha Developers Ltd, into Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody until February 20, in connection with a money laundering case involving ₹85 crore.
The ED’s case is founded on allegations of cheating and forgery, as detailed in a FIR filed by the Mumbai police’s crime branch under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Rajendra Lodha was arrested by the crime branch in September of last year and has since been held in judicial custody. The ED officially took him into custody on Thursday for the money laundering investigation.
The ED presented him before Special PMLA Judge R. B. Rote, requesting a remand for further investigation into the money laundering accusations.
According to the agency, Lodha, who became director in 2015, exceeded his limited authority, which was primarily confined to land acquisition, to conduct a series of unauthorized transactions.
He allegedly collaborated with his son, Sahil, and other close contacts to generate, disguise, and launder illicit funds, leading to significant financial losses for the company.
The ED contends that Lodha facilitated the diversion of corporate funds via fictitious ownership claims and fabricated MOUs, withdrew cash unlawfully, and wrongfully sold company land and Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) at undervalued rates.
Additionally, he allegedly arranged for benami transactions, siphoned off money through controlled entities, and exploited company resources for personal gains and benefits to family-associated entities.
Claims suggest that Lodha fraudulently allocated residential flats under forged agreements, resulting in wrongful gains for connections, and the total financial damage to Lodha Developers surpasses ₹85 crore.
The ED uncovered methods employed by Lodha, including a covert land acquisition approach involving front companies such as Usha Properties and Shreeram Realties, and selling company land in Panvel at a fraction of its market value, inflicting a loss of ₹9.50 crore.
The investigation revealed a “bogus possession/barter deal” system that utilized fake MoUs to misrepresent possession holders. Moreover, a land parcel acquired in 2013 through a company employee was deceitfully transferred to Lodha’s associates posthumously and subsequently sold back to Lodha Developers for a considerable profit.
