So far, stories of cyber fraud have usually involved small amounts—Rs 10,000 disappearing from someone’s account or ?500 being siphoned off. But in 2024 alone, ordinary Indians lost nearly Rs 23,000 crore to cyber fraud. Amid this, a far bigger question has now emerged: are some major corporate companies exploiting legal provisions to defraud banks?
Gurugram-based real estate firm Experion Developers is currently under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The agency has alleged that the company attempted to cause massive losses to banks by exploiting loopholes in the insolvency law and the system. The roles of Standard Chartered Bank, Blackstone, and other financial institutions are also under investigation in this case.
The case traces back to Dignity Buildcon Private Limited, which had taken large loans from banks to purchase land in Gurugram. After failing to repay the loans, the matter reached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). This is where the Experion Group allegedly entered the picture.
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According to the ED, Dignity Buildcon had borrowed more than Rs 92 crore from six entities, including Standard Chartered Bank and Blackstone. It is alleged that Experion Developers attempted to acquire assets worth around Rs 332 crore at a throwaway price.
The investigation revealed that instead of directly acquiring the company, Experion allegedly used its own subsidiary, Experion Capital, to buy the debt and gain control of the Committee of Creditors (CoC)—the body that decides who a bankrupt company’s assets will be sold to. Standard Chartered Bank’s loan exposure of about Rs 494 crore was allegedly sold at a huge discount, while loans linked to Blackstone were also transferred at less than half their value.
In another startling revelation, the ED claimed that Alchemist ARC, which held 35 per cent voting rights in the CoC, was pressured to vote in favour of Experion Capital. Alchemist ARC’s promoter, Alok Dhir, is a corporate lawyer, and his firm has previously been embroiled in similar controversies.
The most serious allegation is that the entire deal revolved around a 9.32-acre land parcel that had already been attached by the ED in connection with another financial scam. Despite this, it is alleged that this crucial fact was concealed from the tribunal.
The ED has urged the NCLT to annul the deal between Dignity Buildcon and Experion. The case now raises a fundamental question: are insolvency laws and institutions like the NCLT meant to protect banks’ money, or are they increasingly being used to pave the way for powerful corporate players? All eyes are now on the tribunal’s verdict.
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