Gurinder Singh Dhillon back in financial scandal spotlight

It's been a while since the financial misdeeds swirling around Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, have appeared in the news. 

Now, though, The Hindu has a story, "Whistle-blower makes fresh charges in Fortis matter."

It opens up new avenues for investigations into how Dhillon, his sons, and one of his closest aides may have benefitted from some loans that previously were thought to have been directed elsewhere.
Download Whistle-blower makes fresh charges in Fortis matter - The Hindu

Here's the story. I've boldfaced parts for emphasis. 

The Fortis Hospitals matter, in which the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) ordered the company to refund over ₹400 crore in December 2018, has taken a new turn, with the regulator receiving a complaint alleging that the real beneficiaries of the money were some of the top officials managing different businesses of the Religare Group. Initially, the money was believed to have moved from the listed entity to a subsidiary and thereafter to three borrower entities.

In a letter submitted to SEBI on January 17, a whistle-blower has named brothers Gurpreet Singh Dhillon and Gurkirat Singh Dhillon, along with Sunil Godhwani and Sanjay Godhwani, among others, as the main beneficiaries of the fund transfer.

Mr. Sanjay Godhwani is the brother of Mr. Sunil Godhwani, the former chairman of Religare Enterprises. Mr. Gurpreet Singh Dhillon is the CEO of Singapore-based Religare Health Trusts. Both, Mr. Gurpreet Singh Dhillon and Mr. Gurkirat Singh Dhillon are sons of Shabnam Dhillon and Gurinder Singh, the head of Radha Soami Satsang Beas.

This assumes significance as the SEBI probe that was initiated in February 2018 was based on reports that the promoters of Fortis Healthcare took out ₹500 crore from the company.

The SEBI probe further found that Fortis Hospitals had given loans to three borrower entities – Best Healthcare, Fern Healthcare and Modland Wears. The ultimate beneficiaries of the three entities, as per the SEBI probe, were RHC Holding and Religare Finvest, with the former being controlled by Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, the original promoters of Fortis Healthcare.

The whistle-blower, in the letter, alleged that an advance of ₹155 crore that Best Healthcare received was disbursed to the Dhillon brothers. Further, Modland Wears is also alleged to have transferred ₹133.36 crore to a few people, including the Dhillon brothers. Meanwhile, Fern Healthcare, which received ₹114 crore from Fortis, transferred the money to the Godhwani brothers and Dhillon brothers, among others.

he Hindu has reviewed a copy of the whistle-blower’s letter to SEBI.

An email query sent to Religare Health Trust on Thursday remained unanswered till the time of going to press, while attempts to contact Mr. Sunil Godhwani proved futile. “While one cannot deny sensationalism through anonymous or whistle-blower complaints route, in some cases, SEBI in the past was able to identify possible fraud and other violations only because of information submitted by third parties,” said Sumit Agrawal, founder, RegStreet Law, who had earlier served as a law officer with SEBI. “SEBI usually wants these complaints to run it past by audit committees of listed companies as a first-check,” added Mr. Agrawal.

“Unfortunately, SEBI investigation has conveniently forgotten and overlooked to collect and put out information about the dealings of well-connected Satsang Beas and moneys flowing from the Singh Brothers to the Dhillon family via an assortment of mysterious financial instruments,” the whistle-blower’s letter stated.

“To the best of my information, around ₹488 crore has been extended to the Dhillon family as loans whereas around ₹70 crore has been extended to the Godhwani family,” the letter stated.

So this adds to the intrigue of the shell companies that funneled money to the guru's relatives and business associates through decidedly shady means. Some Googling appears to reveal that 488 crore in rupees equals about $68 million in U.S. dollars. That's a lot of money.

This reminds me of the scandals involving President Trump and many of his closest associates. So far Trump himself hasn't been directly implicated in the investigation being led by Robert Mueller and his team of FBI agents. 

But when a politician, or a guru, is surrounded by people who lie, cheat, and steal, it makes sense to wonder if the Top Guy is equally involved in wrongdoing. Investigators typically work from the bottom up. Now that the guru's sons have been implicated in possible financial misdeeds, how long will it be before Gurinder Singh Dhillon becomes the focus of an inquiry?

Hard to say. Maybe never. Maybe tomorrow. For now all this simply points to the fact that religious leaders like Dhillon are just as imperfect and flawed as anyone else, if not more so.

Comments

[Neha]

There is new news . Malvinder has filed a case against baba ji and everyone involved . It scares me a lot thinkinn about the result . But at the same time sheena ( who wrote that book) is back in dera . Its just really confusing people who stand against end up joining back . Will the same happen with malvinder .

[Spence Tepper]

And new accusations of death threats from Baba Ji , to add to the above...

https://m.tribuneindia.com/article/malvinder-files-complaint-against-brother-shivinder-spiritu

[Ari]

https://www.tribuneindia.com/mobi/news/business/malvinder-files-complaint-against-brother-shivinder-spiritual-leader/730500.html

Here’s the more disturbing story.

[Seeker]

@Neha why did Sheena went to Beas again? I have read her book and it clearly states that he felt that following a living guru is a waste of time. Are you sure she went to Beas again? if so why? All of this is so confusing. All my life I have followed the path and somewhere deep down I always felt something is wrong here. Anyway @Brian can you confirm if Sheena went to Beas again and why?

[Neha]

I dont know frankly why .but may be she was called back or she is there just for a couple of months or days or whatever .there must be her reasons . Someone there in sewa in beas said they were shocked too when another sewadar told them that sheena was looking into some matters of some hostel and was told that she is back . She must have her reasons . I just am curious if that reason is there is something real in that place and actually i am hoping for it .

[seeker]

@Neha Oh yes even I'm very curious to know now. Why is there so much confusion around. I remember Baba Faqir Chand's message, masters know nothing. If they pretend to know then it's a lie.

Anyway if you come to know the reason about Sheena do let me know here. Thanks Neha.

[Guru]

Does Sheena talk for herself here at all?

[Appreciative Reader]

"Does Sheena talk for herself here at all?"

She has, one time, that I remember. I think it was in the post where Brian writes about her e-book, or at least, if in some other thread, then around that time. I remember this, because I'd responded to her comment (although she didn't respond back).

Beyond that one single instance, I don't think she's commented here at all.

I agree, this is one time where perhaps she could clear things up herself. Me, I don't much care, one way or the other. But there are others here, far more invested than I in this whole RSSB business, who do seem to take her and her views very seriously indeed, as evidenced in comments here, both then and now.

So, while of course whether she should comment or not remains her prerogative and hers alone, nevertheless, if she does peruse this blog, then it would be nice if she could take a couple minutes to clear this up to everyone's satisfaction.

[seeker]

Sheena if you're reading this then please respond. It would be great if you do. What are your thoughts on the current financial fraud? It seems that even you were once working with Fortis. Also are the rumours true of you going to Beas again?