Porsche/Audi dealer Zenica defrauds HDFC Bank of 120 crores

Rash Pal Singh Todd and Mandhir Singh Todd, owners of the Zenica Group were arrested from the Delhi airport while they were about to leave the country. The group owns the Porsche and Audi dealerships in Gurgaon and Delhi and have defrauded the HDFC Bank of Rs. 120 crores.

It has been reported that the duo, who are British nationals of Indian origin have defaulted on a loan worth Rs. 270 crore borrowed from various banks including the HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Canara Bank, J&K Bank and Volkswagen Finance. According to the FIR filed by Sanjay Sharma, Assistant Vice-President of HDFC Bank, the Todds presented forged balance sheets that showed profits to secure the loans, whereas in reality, their businesses were incurring huge losses. It is also alleged that the Todds cashed-in on the sale of 32 demo cars instead of repaying the lenders. 

Zenica Cars India, Zenica Performance Cars Pvt. Ltd. along with Rash Pal Singh Todd and Mandhir Singh Todd and the company's finance head have been charged under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 468 (forgery), 471 (forging documents) and 120B (conspiracy) of IPC.

The Zenica Group is the largest Audi and Porsche dealer in India and earns an estimated Rs. 500 crore each year. On average, the company sells around 140 Audi cars every month, which accounts for a fifth of Audi India's total sales and dispatches around 18-20 Porsches.

Source: Times of India