Lenders of Jet Airways are examining past allegations of fraud against the founder of Darwin Platform Group Company, which has offered to infuse ₹14,000 crore in the airline.
At least four cases had reportedly been registered against Ajay Harinath Singh, the founder of Darwin, which claims to have a net worth of ₹24,000 crore from businesses across different verticals.
The company, however, denied the charges and said the cases had been resolved.
But top sources close to the lenders said that every aspect will be evaluated to make sure the wrong money does not come into the company. According to a 2015 report in The Tribune, the Uttarakhand police had registered a case against Singh in the State and in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly duping the residents of ₹100 crore, posing as an investor.
‘All cases resolved’
However, in response to BusinessLine’s email query, a spokesperson for Darwin said: “All legal cases (against Darwin founder) have been closed in Uttrakhand, Delhi and Rajasthan and no cases in any part of india are pending on him. No evidence was found and the FIR in Uttrakhand was fake and fabricated”
In another case, reported on February 2018, the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Crime Branch arrested two people for allegedly duping people of ₹7,50,000, by luring them to invest in a Russia-based company, ‘Rosneft Hedge Fund’.
In the same case, Singh’s name was associated with the two people who perpetrated the fraud. The company said: “We are the victim here. Our statement has been recorded by the Delhi police and we have been given a clean chit in all the cases.
“These guys misused our company’s name, made a proprietor firm, and cheated the public. The chargesheet has also been filed against the culprits,” it added.
The Darwin group claims to have investments in 18 companies in several sectors, including aviation, real estate, logistics, mass media, power, and shipping.
According to its CEO Rahul Ganpule, the company’s net worth is around ₹24,000 crore.