Dhenu Buildcon used Rs 25 crore to create Rs 1,000 crore loan trail: SEBI

Mumbai, Aug 19 (IANS) Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has alleged that Dhenu Buildcon Infra Limited used a network of connected entities to repeatedly circulate a base amount of Rs 25 crore, creating the appearance that the company had received Rs 1,000 crore in genuine unsecured loans.

The allegations were made in an interim order passed by SEBI Whole Time Member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney. According to the regulator, the alleged arrangement was orchestrated by Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain and involved Dhenu Buildcon and several entities connected to the company.

SEBI said that during FY25, Dhenu Buildcon purportedly received Rs 1,000 crore in unsecured loans from seven entities. The company subsequently converted Rs 840 crore of the purported debt into equity through a preferential allotment to six of these entities in December 2025.

However, an examination of the bank accounts of the entities allegedly involved in the transactions showed that the purported Rs 1,000 crore inflow was created by repeatedly layering and circulating a single base amount of Rs 25 crore through the accounts of connected entities, SEBI alleged.

The regulator further alleged that the initial Rs 25 crore itself originated from suspicious fund rotations involving other connected entities. Based on its analysis of the fund trail, SEBI said it had prima facie concluded that the purported loans were not genuine transactions.

Consequently, the regulator alleged that the Rs 840-crore preferential allotment was made without genuine financial consideration.

SEBI also identified several links between Dhenu Buildcon, the entities shown as lenders and preferential allottees, and other entities that received funds from the company. These links included common addresses, directors, authorised signatories and bank branches, along with extensive cross-shareholdings.

According to the regulator, the entities forming part of the network were directly or indirectly owned, controlled or managed by Surendra Jain and Virendra Jain.

SEBI also cited chat messages and call records recovered during search and seizure operations in an unrelated matter, which it said provided evidence of the alleged control exercised over the network.

Physical inspections of the registered offices of the entities also raised concerns, with SEBI stating that the entities appeared to lack genuine physical presence and commercial substance.

The regulator further noted that the alleged transactions took place against the backdrop of a dramatic increase in Dhenu Buildcon’s market valuation.

–IANS

pk