Indian tycoon accuses brother, ‘guru’ of fraud

Bloomberg

Former Indian billionaire Malvinder Singh has filed a criminal complaint accusing his younger brother of siphoning funds from their family holding company and fraudulently diverting them to a renowned spiritual guru, the latest twist in the unraveling of a $2 billion empire.
Shivinder Singh allegedly directed the holding company to acquire debt-ridden firms which collectively lent 10 billion rupees ($140 million) to the family and associates of their guru, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, according to a complaint filed to the Economic Offenses Wing of the New Delhi police seen by Bloomberg. In return, the younger Singh was promised he would succeed the guru as head of one of India’s most powerful spiritual sects.
The public fight between the former billionaire brothers follows the collapse of one of India’s most storied business families that once controlled the nation’s top drugmaker and second-largest hospital chain. The siblings have lost much of their corporate empire to debt, and are still being chased by creditors. Meanwhile, India’s stock market regulator and fraud office have open investigations into wrongdoing at companies the brothers used to run.
New Delhi police have opened an investigation into the complaint, said a police official. A criminal prosecution would be pursued if the probe establishes criminality, he said.

Malvinder and Shivinder have declined to comment on the allegations in the criminal complaint. The brothers have previously denied any wrongdoing at their companies.
Dhillon’s lawyer and the secretary of his spiritual sect did not immediately respond to text messages seeking comment on behalf of the guru and his family members referenced in the allegations.
The criminal complaint alleges that the 43-year-old Shivinder “initiated” as well as “permitted this siphoning and malfeasance of funds entrusted to him with the ulterior motive of gaining ultimate control of the seat of the spiritual head of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas,” promised to him by Dhillon. The spiritual sect, founded almost 130 years ago and based on a commune in north India, boasts four million followers worldwide.
Malvinder, 46, claims the acquisitions of six debt-ridden companies by his brother were misrepresented as beneficial to the family’s holding company when in fact they had no value. Efforts to write off the guru’s debts to these companies are further eroding the value of the holding company, RHC Holding Pvt., according to the complaint.