NEW DELHI: It was an email by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that led officials in Maharashtra's Satara district to find Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan, promoter brothers of the scam-tainted DHFL, in the tourist town of Mahabaleshwar, officials privy to the development said on Friday.
They said the federal agency, that has been on the heels of the duo as part of its money laundering probe in the Yes Bank case, got source-based information that the Wadhawans and a few others had moved out from the state's Khandala area and were staying at a location in Satara.
Officials said the investigating officer of the case, who was present at the agency's office in Ballard Pier in Mumbai, immediately shared "vital details" of this information with the Superintendent of Police and Collector of Satara district on Thursday evening.
The email mentioned that as the Wadhawans were jumping Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons in the Yes Bank case, the probe agency had deployed its "assets" to track their movements and hence the district administration should help in locating its accused who were present in their jurisdiction.
"This was on the lines of sharing information and seeking cooperation by one law enforcement agency to the other in the course of investigating a criminal case," a source said.
They said the ED had been looking for the Wadhawans since they rejected its three summons, issued under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), in the high-profile case where top business honchos like Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani and Essel promoter Subhash Chandra have already been questioned.
The Wadhawans kept changing their locations in Maharashtra and were using different phones, sources claimed.
They were also not living in the premises owned by them or their companies but in the houses of some acquaintances, like in Khandala, and hence it was difficult to trace them, the sources claimed.
Civic authorities of Satara found them along with 21 others at the 'Diwan farm house' on Thursday after which they were put under quarantine in the same district and relevant sections of the IPC and the Disaster Management Act were slapped against them as they travelled from Khandala in alleged breach of the lockdown imposed across the country to contain the spread of coronavirus.
The ED is expected to soon apprise a local Mumbai court about the incident stating "non-cooperation" by the duo.
Ironically, after skipping the ED summons thrice, the Wadhawans had cited the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic for their non-appearance in connection with the money laundering probe against Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor and others.
The Wadhawans denied any wrongdoing in their dealings with the bank and were supposed to appear before the central agency on March 17 in Mumbai.
The agency had summoned them thrice, with the first communication for deposition sent on March 10.
Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) CMD Kapil Wadhawan and non-executive director Dheeraj Wadhawan are already being probed by the agency as part of a separate money-laundering investigation related to late Mumbai gangster Iqbal Mirchi.
Kapil Wadhawan, 47, was also arrested by the agency in the case related to Iqbal Mirchi but is now out on bail.
Their role is now being probed by the ED in the criminal case filed against Kapoor for receiving alleged kickbacks through companies purportedly controlled by his family and for going slow on bad loans extended by his bank to some big corporates.
The brothers had also told the ED that they would reply if the investigative agency sent them a questionnaire in connection with the Yes Bank probe.
The ED has also moved a Mumbai court seeking a non-bailable warrant against Dheeraj Wadhawan in connection with the Iqbal Mirchi case.