ED Searches on Religare Executives Amid Fraud Allegations

Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) reported that Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials conducted searches on the premises of key managerial personnel, including Executive Chairperson Rashmi Saluja. The searches are linked to a complaint involving cheating and criminal conspiracy. The ED has frozen certain shares, though no incriminating materials were seized.

Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) announced on Friday that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the residences of its key managerial personnel, including Executive Chairperson Rashmi Saluja, related to a case from Matunga Police Station, Mumbai, filed last year.

According to a regulatory filing, the ED officials executed searches at the premises of senior officers such as Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson, Nitin Agarwal, Group CFO, Nishant Singhal, Group General Counsel of REL, and Chirag Jain, COO of Religare Finvest Ltd on August 21, 2024.

The searches stemmed from a complaint by Vaibhav Gawli under sections 420, 120-B, 511, and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, alleging cheating and criminal conspiracy aimed at defrauding the complainant and REL shareholders. In total, 14 individuals, including former REL promoters and members of the Burman Family, were named. No incriminating documents were seized, but ESOP shares of Care Health Insurance Ltd, a subsidiary of REL, held by some executives were frozen.