Builders-banks nexus in NCR: CBI registers 22 FIRs on SC's directions

The CBI has registered 22 FIRs on the Supreme Court's directions to investigate the "unholy nexus" of builders and banks to cheat homebuyers in NCR, officials on Wednesday said.

The agency conducted searches at 47 locations in Delhi and NCR following registration of the FIRs, a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.

The CBI has named Jaypee Sports International Ltd, Jaiprakash Associates Ltd, Ajnara India Ltd, Vatika Ltd, Jaypee Infratech Ltd, Supertech and Idea Builders among others in its separate FIRs.

The bankers and financial institutions like the State Bank of India, Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd, Piramal Finance, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Tata Capital Housing Finance and PNB Housing Finance Ltd among others have also been named in the FIRs registered by the Economic Offences unit of the agency, the officials said.

The CBI action followed the directives of the apex court bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh which allowed the agency to convert the six preliminary enquiries it conducted against various builders and banks into 22 regular cases for further investigation.

"In this connection, the CBI has registered 22 cases and conducted searches at 47 locations/places in Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, etc. Various incriminating documents and some digital electronic evidences have been seized during the searches," the statement said.

The case centres on a subvention scheme offered by the banks and financial institutions to homebuyers wherein sanctioned loan amounts were directly disbursed to developers who were obligated to pay the EMIs until possession of the flats was handed over to the buyers.

Following widespread defaults by developers on their commitments, the banks began demanding repayment from the purchasers.

Commending the CBI for its diligence in recognising the scale and severity of the alleged fraud, the apex court said that the agency had examined more than 1,000 individuals and visited 58 project sites as part of its investigation.