RFL Money Laundering Case: Court Sends Shivinder Singh To Judicial Custody

Former Fortis Healthcare promoter Shivinder Singh, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case related to alleged misappropriation of funds at Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL), was on Thursday sent to judicial custody till January 8 by a Delhi court. Shivinder was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav after expiry of his ED custody and the court remanded him to judicial custody after the probe agency said he was not required for further custodial interrogation.

Singh's brother Malvinder (46), also a former Fortis Healthcare promoter, former CMD of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) Sunil Godhwani (58), and other accused Kavi Arora (48) and Anil Saxena were earlier arrested by Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Delhi Police in a separate case for allegedly diverting RFL's money and investing it in other companies.

The ED had taken Shivinder into custody on December 12 from Tihar jail, where he was lodged in the case filed by Delhi Police in relation to the alleged scam. The court had earlier rejected his bail plea in the case registered by the EOW, saying there was every likelihood of his fleeing from justice and hampering the trial.

The ED had alleged that both the brothers, along with others, transferred an amount of about Rs 1,000 crore to various persons from entities linked to the corporate loan book and finally, the money was siphoned off.

The EOW registered an FIR in March after it received a complaint from RFL's Manpreet Suri against Shivinder, Godhwani and others, alleging that loans were taken by them while managing the firm but the money was invested in other companies.

"They put RFL in a poor financial condition by disbursing loans to companies with no financial standing and controlled by them. The companies to which the loans were disbursed willfully defaulted in repayments and caused a loss to RFL to the tune of Rs 2,397 crore," the police had alleged.