ED Seizes Rolls-Royce, Bentley And G-Wagen In 100 Crore Scam Bust

The Enforcement Directorate recently conducted raids at various locations in Rajasthan as part of an investigation into an alleged ₹100+ crore scam. The raid was conducted at the residence and office of the Chairman, i.e., Mukesh Mahavar alias Mukesh Manveer Singh of Debock Industries Limited (an NSE-listed company), and his associates. As part of the raid, the officials seized luxury cars worth crores. The probe agency seized cars like Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and G-Wagen from the residences of the company promoters.

The main accused in this case, Mukesh Manveer Singh (formerly Mukesh Mahavar), is the owner of the Debock Group and also has political connections. He had, in fact, contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 from Tonk-Sawai Madhopur on a Shiv Sena ticket.

The Enforcement Directorate initiated an investigation based on an FIR by the Rajasthan Police against Abhishek Khandelwal, Najiya Bano, and others, and a prosecution complaint filed by SEBI against Debock Industries Limited, Mukesh Manveer Singh, Sunil Kalot, and Priyanka Sharma. The company undertook a rights issue of shares in June 2023 and collected a sum of ₹49.09 crore.

During the investigation, it was discovered that the company promoters had inflated share prices and cheated investors for their personal gain. Debock Industries Ltd. manipulated its financial statements, submitted false bank accounts, reported fake sales and purchases, engaged in round-tripping of funds, and migrated to the main board of the National Stock Exchange for the issuance of rights shares.

The proceeds collected from the issue of rights, which should have been used for legitimate business purposes, were misused by the promoters and their associates. It was also discovered during the investigation that the suspects had appointed their low-level employees as directors to mislead authorities. It was prima facie found that the promoters and their associates had diverted the money to overseas entities and invested in real estate.

Manveer invested over ₹100 crore of defrauded money in various real estate ventures. These included villas, hotels, resorts, banquet halls, and even plans for a multi-storey housing project on Tonk Road in Chaksu.

Coming to the vehicles, the ED has seized cars like an old-generation Rolls-Royce Phantom, Bentley Mulsanne, a previous-generation Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG, and a Toyota Land Cruiser LC300. Most cars seized by the authorities are worth crores. Apart from the vehicles, the probe agency also seized ₹78 lakh in unaccounted cash.

In addition to the cash and cars, the agency also found documents related to investments in properties, banking records, and digital devices. All of these have also been seized by the officials.

This is not the first time we have come across a report like this. A few months ago, a similar report emerged about the electric cab provider BluSmart. During an investigation, SEBI found mismanagement of funds and discovered that the funds were used for personal luxuries, including a high-end apartment in Gurgaon’s DLF Camellias project.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has debarred BluSmart’s founders, Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi, from accessing the capital markets and holding directorial posts, following revelations of large-scale fund diversion.