The controversy over the Mahadev betting app scandal turned murky on Tuesday after Dabur group chairman Mohit Burman and director Gaurav Burman were named in a first information report (FIR) apparently filed at Matunga police station in Mumbai, which accused them of links with certain match-fixers in India.
The issue soon snowballed into a prickly corporate feud after the Burmans slammed the move as “a step provoked by vested interests… to block the acquisition of Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL).”
In September, four entities representing the Burmans — MB Finmart Private Ltd, Puran Associates Private Ltd, VIC Enterprises Private Ltd and Milky Investment & Trading Company -- announced an open offer to acquire up to 26 per cent of REL. If it is successful, the Burmans will gain control with a stake of more than 51 per cent in REL.
REL is a Core Investment Company (CIC) offering an integrated suite of financial services through its underlying subsidiaries.
The Burmans initially held hold 21 per cent of REL – and were the largest shareholders in the company. In September, the four group companies bought an additional 5.27 per cent, thereby triggering the open offer.
Under Sebi regulations, an entity that crosses a 25 per cent stake holding threshold must come out with an open offer to buy an additional 26 per cent from the public.
The buyout move sparked a wave of recriminations after the independent directors of REL wrote to regulators like the RBI and SEBI alleging fraud and other regulatory violations by the Burmans – which was denounced by the Burmans as “false, frivolous and defamatory”.
However, the capital market regulator sought evidence and documents from REL to support the allegations made in the letter sent by the independent directors in October. SEBI had also sought the response of JM Financial, which is managing the open offer on behalf of the Burman family, to the welter of allegations.
On November 7, the Mumbai police had registered an FIR against 32 persons including someone listed as an “unknown” in the Mahadev betting app case. The FIR has been filed by a social activist, Prakash Bankar.
An investigation by the Enforcement Directorate had revealed that the app was being operated by Saurabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal out of Dubai through which black money was laundered through a number of benami accounts. The scandal has engulfed the elections in Chattisgarh amid allegations that bribes were paid to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, which he has dismissed as an attempt to tarnish his image.
Alleging that Chandrakar and others were actively involved in “fixing” the outcome of major cricket matches and other tournaments in India, Bankar claimed that Chandrakar operated through a person called Dinesh Khambat, residing in London and another person called Chander Aggarwal.
It is here where the Burmans name allegedly figured. The complaint claims that Aggarwal has links with Mohit Burman who, in turn, had links with persons like Dinesh Khambat, Rohit Kumar Murga and Gaurav Burman.
The Burman family said that they had not received any formal communication on the said FIR and that they have seen the FIR which is being circulated to media houses.
“The FIR is patently false and baseless. Nothing could be further from the truth than as wrongly stated in the FIR.
“From a copy of the FIR that is being circulated in the media, we note that allegations are being made that Mohit Burman and Gaurav Burman are directly related to some of the accused.
“There is an “unseen – Exhibit F” which seems to lay out some so-called relationships. Mohit Burman and Gaurav Burman do not even know or have ever met the accused mentioned in the FIR being circulated selectively in the media,” they added.
“The Burman Family remains shocked at these ‘arm-twisting’ moves, which are grossly illegal. Nevertheless, we remain resolute (and) will proceed with our acquisition of Religare Enterprises as contemplated,” the statement added.
