Complainant writes to CBI, CVC against EOW’s closure of Wadhawan case | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The managing director of Mack Star Marketing Private Limited, Sumit Saha, who is also the complainant in the 2023 cheating case against Housing Development Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) promoter and others, has written to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in protest against the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) report for closing the case. The complainant stated that the closure report was “motivated” and a product of “influenced investigation”.

Earlier, in February 2023, based on Saha’s complaint, Mumbai police’s NM Joshi Marg police station had registered a case against HDIL promoter Rakesh Wadhawan, his son Sarang, and others, on charges including those related to cheating and dishonest or fraudulent execution of deed of transfer of the IPC, for allegedly cheating the marketing company of ₹88.47 crore. The probe was later transferred to the EOW.

Mack Star was then a joint venture between HDIL and Mauritius-based Ocean Deity Investment Holdings Limited (ODIL), which had set up a business park, Kaledonia, in Andheri East during 2014-2018.

The FIR had accused the Wadhawans of unlawfully selling off some office units from the project while keeping the partners in the dark. As per the complaint, since ODIL had invested 95 per cent of the funds in Mack Star for Kaledonia, the firm was given the controlling rights over the property, sale of assets, and sale proceeds as well.

The letter to the CBI and other authorities, dated February 25, mentioned that on February 10, the complainant had received a letter, dated February 6, from the EOW, stating that it had filed its closure report in the case.

The closure report stated that the conflict between the two partners of the firm was civil alone, ruling out any fraudulent conduct on the part of Wadhawan in the allocation of certain office units in the Kaledonia building. There was no evidence suggesting any criminal act, so the alleged crime is neither true nor false, the EOW closure report stated.

“After nearly six years after the complaint was initially lodged and two years since the registration of the FIR, the EOW recently filed a closure report in the Esplanade Court, Mumbai,” the letter stated. “Even a cursory perusal of the closure report indicated that the EOW was influenced by extraneous considerations and there should be an institution of appropriate departmental enquiries.”

The letter further stated that the report allegedly ignored findings of criminality reached by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the same transactions that are the subject matter of the EOW case and that the closure report allegedly contained no assessment whatsoever of whether the provisions of the Indian Penal Code referred to in the FIR are applicable to the transactions impugned in the FIR.

It also complained that the closure report allegedly ventured into a completely unnecessary and incorrect analysis of restructuring of shareholding of ODIL in Mack Star and provisions of Articles of Association of Mack Star, which are totally irrelevant for the purpose of the investigation into the criminality of acts committed by the accused to misappropriate Mack Star’s assets. “The Closure Report has based its conclusions predominantly on a false report of the Registrar of Companies, which has subsequently been withdrawn by the RoC,” it claimed. “All of the above indicate that the Closure Report a manufactured document produced under influence and meant to shield certain businessmen and influential politicians who have been named as accused,” it added, while seeking “a meeting” in connection with the issue.

When asked about the letter’s claims, an EOW official told HT on Thursday, “Since the matter is sub judice, it would be inappropriate on my part to comment. Notices have been issued by the jurisdictional court to the parties concerned.”