Crackdown on investigation against Rashmi Saluja and other officers

There is a new twist in the money laundering case related to Religare company. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has interrogated the company’s executive chairperson Rashmi Saluja. There is a possibility of big revelations in this four month old case soon. According to the Economic Times report, Rashmi Saluja and some other officials of Religare are accused of embezzling company funds and filing fake FIRs. However, Rashmi Saluja has denied all these allegations.

Interrogation of Saluja and further action

• Appearance on December 17:
  • Rashmi Saluja appeared in the ED office on 17 December.
  • He was interrogated for several hours.
• Second round of questioning:
  • ED has indicated that Saluja will be called again.
• Summon:
  • Rashmi Saluja was summoned under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
  • ED records the statement of the accused under this section before presenting it in the court.

FIR was registered in September

• ED had registered an FIR in this case in September 2024.
• The names of Religare’s former finance chief Nitin Aggarwal and counsel Nishant Singhal are also included among the accused.
• The FIR was registered on the basis of the statement of Religare shareholder Vaibhav Gawli.

Allegation of fake FIR

• According to the FIR, Rashmi Saluja and other Religare officials instigated Vaibhav Gawli to lodge a fake FIR at the Matunga police station in Mumbai.
• Gawli’s allegation:
  • Gawli said in his complaint that the Burman family, which runs the Dabur company, was blocking 25% of the shares of Religare in connivance with former Religare directors Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh.
  • Additionally, there were plans to acquire 26% of the shares through an open offer.
• ED has alleged that Rashmi Saluja gave ₹2 lakh to Gawli to lodge a fake FIR.

Scope of ED investigation increased

• After investigating the FIR lodged by Gawli at Matunga police station, ED found many important evidences.
• On the basis of this evidence, the crackdown is being tightened against Rashmi Saluja and other officials.

Rashmi Saluja’s stance

Economic Times contacted Rashmi Saluja and tried to know her side, but she did not respond.