LIC Housing Finance has alleged that two loan facilities were granted on the basis of net worth certificates submitted by Subhash Chandra. (File Photo)The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against Zee founder and Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra, several companies and their directors for allegedly inflating his net worth to avail loans from Life Insurance Corporation Housing Finance Ltd (LICHFL). The loans subsequently turned into defaults, causing an alleged loss of over Rs 1,322 crore to the public sector lender.The FIR, registered by the CBI’s Banking Securities Fraud Branch on August 31, is based on a written complaint filed by Neeta Menghani, general manager of LICHFL.In the FIR, LICHFL has alleged wrongful loss of over Rs 1,322 crore, plus interest and charges, in relation to two loan facilities granted in 2018 and secured by personal guarantees allegedly executed by Chandra.Apart from Chandra, the accused named in the FIR include Vasant Sagar Properties Pvt Ltd, its director Pankaj Suroliya, Pan India Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, its director Amish Pandya, Spirit Infra Power and Multi Ventures Pvt Ltd, and its director Rajeev Dholakia, besides unknown public servants and others.Must Read | Zee founder Subhash Chandra’s Rs 6.25-cr settlement plan against Rs 22,006 cr claims on holdTwo loan facilities grantedThe complaint says LIC Housing Finance had granted a Rs 500 crore loan facility to Vasant Sagar Properties Pvt Ltd and Pan India Infra Projects Pvt Ltd. It also granted a Rs 480 crore loan facility to Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd and Spirit Infra Power and Multi Ventures Pvt Ltd.Both facilities, the complaint alleges, were secured by letters of continuing guarantee executed by Chandra. The first guarantee was allegedly executed on March 28, 2018, and the second on August 10, 2018.LIC Housing Finance has alleged that the loan facilities were granted on the basis of net worth certificates submitted by Chandra. In the case of the Vasant Sagar loan, the complaint says a certificate dated March 28, 2018, showed his net worth as USD 6,197.62 million, described in the document as approximately Rs 59,113.21 crore, as of March 31, 2017. For the second loan facility, a certificate dated July 6, 2018, allegedly showed his net worth as Rs 40,562 crore.Story continues below this adThe complaint further alleges that during subsequent proceedings relating to Chandra’s personal insolvency resolution, he denied having the net worth reflected in the certificates submitted to LIC Housing Finance.The complaint states that he claimed his net worth in 2024 was Rs 31.79 crore, and that even in 2017-18, he did not have a net worth of more than Rs 40,000 crore.‘Defaults in both loan facilities’The FIR records that defaults occurred in both loan facilities. For the Vasant Sagar facility, the complaint cites an outstanding amount of Rs 570.50 crore, while for the Digital Subscriber facility, it cites an outstanding amount of Rs 507.25 crore. The total alleged wrongful loss has been pegged at Rs 1,322 crore.LICHFL has alleged that Chandra, acting in collusion with the borrowing entities, their officers and directors, induced the lender to advance the loans on the basis of allegedly inflated and false net worth documents. The complaint also alleges misappropriation and misapplication of funds, and claims that assets of the personal guarantor were stripped to defeat recovery proceedings.