IndiaBulls Housing Finance share price slumped in trade today after its chairman and directors were accused of allegedly misappropriating Rs 98,000 crore of public money. However, the firm has termed these allegations a desperate attempt to "malign" the company's reputation and create hurdles in its merger with Laxmi Vilas Bank.
IndiaBulls Housing Finance share price fell up to 8.32% to 672.05 compared to the previous close of 733.05 on BSE.
The stock opened at a loss of 4.51% at 700 level on BSE. The stock has lost 43.71% during the last one year and fallen 20.73% since the beginning of this year.
The large cap stock underperformed the sector by over 8%.
On Monday, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court seeking legal action against Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (IHFL), its Chairman and directors for alleged misappropriation of Rs 98,000 crore of public money.
The petition alleged that money worth thousands of crores were siphoned off by Sameer Gehlaut, the chairman of the firm, and the directors of Indiabulls for their personal use.Abhay Yadav, the petitioner and one of the IHFL shareholders, alleged that Gehlaut, with the help of one Harish Fabiani - an NRI based in Spain, allegedly created multiple "shell companies" to which IHFL loaned huge sums of money under "bogus and non-existent pretexts".
These companies further transferred the loan amount to other companies which were either run, directed or operated by Gehlaut, his family members or other directors of Indiabulls, the plea alleged.
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"This entire chain of scam would have never been possible without the conniving with the auditors, credit rating agencies and concerned officials of the respective government departments," the plea said.
The plea also sought directions to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Centre, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Income Tax Department or the competent authority to restore, protect and conserve the defrauded and misappropriated investors' money.
However, in a clarification, Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IBHFL) said the writ petition filed in the Supreme Court is an attempt to "malign" the company's reputation and create hurdles in its merger with Laxmi Vilas Bank.
"The writ petition is filed only today and is not heard by the court....The total loans on the books of Indiabulls Housing is approx Rs 90,000 crore. The allegations of siphoning off of Rs 98,000 crore is bizarre," IBHFL said.
Edited by Aseem Thapliyal