ED gives clean chit to Dabur’s Burmans; accuses Religare’s Rashmi Saluja, others of criminal conspiracy

Burmans vs Religare case: The Dabur Group promoters, the Burmans, have received a clean chit from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the 2023 FIR that was registered against them, accusing instead Religare Group Chairperson Rashmi Saluja and other senior officials of hatching a criminal conspiracy to book the Burmans for alleged misappropriation of funds from Religare.

The new FIR, accessed by India Today TV, registered on September 6 at the Matunga police station by an ED Assistant Director named Saluja, other senior officials, identified as Group CFO Nitin Aggarwal, Group President and General Counsel Nishant Singhal, as well as a private individual, Vaibhav Gawli, as the parties filing the FIR against the Burmans in 2023. 

The ED had launched a probe into the FIR registered against the Dabur Group promoters, including Chairperson Mohit Burman and others. It had also recorded a statement of Mohit Burman. 

The agency later investigated and questioned Religare officials, including CFO Nitin Aggarwal, and others. Subsequently a search was launched in the premises of Saluja by the ED. 

The agency officials stated that the probe into the 2023 FIR found that the accused officials paid Rs 2 lakh to Gawli to purchase 500 Religare shares worth Rs 1.20 lakh, and the remaining amount of Rs 80,000 was offered to him for filing the complaint with Matunga police against the Burman family members. 

The complaint was allegedly made to prevent the Burman family members from taking control of the Religare Group and also to protect their Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) shares worth around Rs 179.5 crore. 

The ED officials searched four premises in Delhi and Gurugram related to Religare in August, during which it froze the shares obtained in the form of ESOPs held in the accounts of Saluja, Aggarwal and his wife, and Singhal. 

The complaint mentioned that the alleged active role of Saluja, Aggarwal and Singhal in getting the FIR lodged was to block or strip and restrict the change in ownership of Religare which points to a deliberate conspiracy to obfuscate the detection of the illegal gains made by them in the form of stock options of Care Health Insurance. 

In the case registered against Mohit Burman and others of the Burman family in November last year, REL shareholder Vaibhav Gawli, claimed he had purchased 500 REL shares at Rs 239 each, amounting to approximately Rs 1.20 lakh, in October 2023. He alleged that due to misappropriation of funds by the Burmans and earlier promoters, the shares had fallen in value, causing losses to him and other shareholders. Upon interrogation, Gawli claimed that he filed the FIR only in the directions of Saluja and other Religare officials.