17 booked for misappropriating ₹1,200 cr from Lilavati Hospital trust | Mumbai news
MUMBAI: The police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against 17 people for allegedly misappropriating ₹1,200 crore from the public charitable trust that manages Lilavati Hospital in Bandra.
The hospital’s former trustees are among the accused. They have been accused of large-scale irregularities, manipulation, and siphoning of funds, which were allegedly uncovered during a forensic audit. The Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT) has also claimed that black magic was performed in the hospital premises by the former trustees.
The FIR, registered on March 6 based on a current trustee’s complaint, has been transferred to the Mumbai police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for further investigation.
According to the FIR, after the current trustees took control of LKMM in 2023, they identified large-scale irregularities in its affairs by their predecessors.
A detailed forensic audit revealed unlawful siphoning of the trust’s funds into offshore accounts, illegal financial transactions disguised as legitimate expenditures, fraudulent investments, and large-scale kickbacks received by the accused over several years, the complaint said.
The alleged misappropriation has impacted the trust’s operations and healthcare services provided by Lilavati Hospital, the complaint added.
Based on the forensic audit’s findings, permanent trustee Prashant Mehta approached a metropolitan magistrate court in Bandra, which directed the registration of an FIR under sections 34 (common intention), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 465 (forgery), and 467 (forgery of valuable security) of the Indian Penal Code.
“More than three FIRs have been filed against the former trustees and other related individuals,” Mehta told reporters on Tuesday. “A fourth proceeding against these individuals is now pending before the magistrate, which is based on our complaint filed in the Bandra police station for black magic and occult practices.”
Former Mumbai police commissioner Parambir Singh, who is now an executive director at Lilavati Hospital, told reporters that eight urns containing human remains—bones and hair—were found under the flooring of the trust’s office. The articles were sealed and sent to the police. Singh added that the former trustees allegedly responsible for the misappropriation are currently in Belgium and Dubai, UAE.
“The gross misconduct and financial misappropriation uncovered during the forensic audit is not just a betrayal of the trust placed in the alleged and fraudulent former trustees, but a direct threat to the very mission of our hospital,” said Mehta in a statement released on Tuesday. “We will ensure that every individual involved in these illegal activities is held accountable, and we request the Enforcement Directorate to take swift and decisive action in investigating these financial crimes…”
