New Delhi
Pharmaceutical giant Ranbaxy’s ex-promoters Shivinder Singh and his older brother Malvinder Singh were arrested on Thursday in a Rs. 740-crore fraud case. While Shivinder Singh was arrested earlier in the evening, Malvinder Singh was arrested early on Friday morning after being detained in Punjab’s Ludhiana late on Thursday night after a lookout notice was put out against him.
The brothers were raided by the Enforcement Directorate in August.
They have been accused by Religare Finvest of fraud and misappropriation involving around Rs. 740 crore.
Religare Finvest filed its complaint with the police against the Singh brothers in December. Five months later, the brothers were charged with cheating, fraud and misappropriation of funds.
The Enforcement Directorate also initiated a money laundering case against them.
Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh were heirs to the multi-billion dollar Ranbaxy Laboratories founded by their father. They sold it to Japanese firm Daiichi Sankyo in 2008 and focused on the family-owned Fortis Healthcare, a hospital chain, and Religare Enterprises, a financial services firm.
In 2013, Daiichi moved an arbitration tribunal in Singapore alleging that the brothers, while selling Ranbaxy, had concealed information about the US Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice investigating the company. The tribunal in 2016 ordered the Singhs to pay Daiichi Rs. 2,562 crore. The brothers challenged the decision but in 2017, the Delhi High Court ordered them to pay up.
The brothers’ feud began after they lost control of both Fortis Healthcare and Religare.
They resigned as directors from the board of Fortis Healthcare soon after the High Court decision, in February 2018. In September the same year, Shivinder Singh filed a case against his brother alleging “oppression and mismanagement” in their joint businesses – RHC Holding, Religare and Fortis.
The Securities And Exchange Board of India (SEBI) ordered the Singhs and firms related to them to pay Rs. 403 crore to Fortis, after it emerged during investigations that they had diverted funds from Fortis and misrepresented financial statements.
Last year, the Supreme Court also dismissed the Singh brothers’ appeal and confirmed the international arbitral award, saying it was not inclined to interfere with it.
Earlier this year, the brothers were told by the top court that they could go to jail for disobeying its orders to pay what was due to Daiichi Sankyo.
