ED Freezes Rs 51.75 Crore in Al Jalore Trading Account Over DHFL Fraud Probe
The Enforcement Directorate has frozen approximately Rs 51.75 crore held in the Indian bank account of Dubai-based firm M/s Al Jalore Trading FZE in Mumbai, alleging that the funds are proceeds of crime linked to the diversion of loans sanctioned to Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd.
The financial probe agency also seized and impounded documents and records concerning the transactions and assets under investigation. The enforcement action followed search operations conducted on August 19 by the agency’s Headquarters Investigation Unit under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The money laundering probe connects to an alleged Rs 34,615-crore loan fraud involving DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan and Dheeraj Wadhawan. The investigation by the Enforcement Directorate originates from a First Information Report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation on a complaint by Union Bank of India on behalf of a 17-bank consortium.
According to the CBI FIR, Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan, and other accused persons entered into a criminal conspiracy to cheat the consortium of lenders, which had approved credit facilities totalling Rs 42,871.42 crore for DHFL. The consortium loan funds were allegedly diverted and siphoned off through the falsification of DHFL's books, resulting in an estimated wrongful loss of Rs 34,615 crore to the lending institutions.
During its probe, the Enforcement Directorate traced a portion of the alleged proceeds of crime to a United Kingdom property named Hurtmore House. The real estate asset was held in the name of Vanita Wadhawan, the wife of promoter Kapil Wadhawan.
The agency stated that a fictitious liability was set up in Vanita Wadhawan’s name through a purported loan agreement executed between her and Al Jalore Trading FZE. The UK property was subsequently mortgaged against this agreement. According to investigators, this structured arrangement was created to place an encumbrance on the overseas property to assist in settling liabilities in India connected to the DHFL loan fraud.
The Hurtmore House property in the UK was later sold in 2026. Instead of being remitted to the registered owner, Vanita Wadhawan, the sale proceeds were routed directly into the Indian bank account of Al Jalore Trading FZE. The agency alleged that the transaction constituted the disposal and utilisation of the foreign asset through a structured mechanism involving foreign entities, with the funds aimed at facilitating the settlement of Indian liabilities.
