New Delhi, September 5 (TNA) In a major escalation of the legal troubles surrounding Essel Group founder Dr Subhash Chandra, the CBI has registered a Regular Case (RC) on August 31, 2026, following a complaint by LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LICHFL) alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct involving an alleged wrongful loss of ₹1,322 crore of public money.
The FIR invokes Sections 120B read with 409 and 420 IPC, besides provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, and names Subhash Chandra, Vasant Sagar Properties Pvt Ltd, Pan India Infraprojects Pvt Ltd, Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd, Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures Pvt Ltd, directors and unknown public servants, among others.
The most explosive allegation concerns Chandra’s stated net worth. According to LICHFL’s complaint, a ₹500-crore facility and a ₹480-crore facility were backed by Chandra’s personal guarantees. LICHFL alleges that one net-worth certificate submitted in connection with the facilities represented his net worth at approximately ₹59,113 crore, while another represented it at ₹40,562 crore.
LICHFL further alleges that during Chandra’s subsequent personal insolvency proceedings, he denied having the net worth stated in those certificates and stated that his net worth in 2024 was only ₹31.79 crore. The lender alleges that the earlier certificates had been submitted to induce it to approve and disburse the loans. These are allegations in the complaint and remain subject to investigation and adjudication.
The complaint goes further, alleging that Chandra and the borrower entities acted in collusion to induce LICHFL to advance the loans, that false documents were created to depict an inflated net worth, and that funds were misapplied and assets stripped to defeat recoveries.
LIC Housing Finance has an admitted claim of about ₹1,322.39 crore, while the repayment plan reportedly provides it only about ₹38.09 lakh; LICHFL, Canara Bank and Union Bank have challenged the insolvency outcome.
LICHFL has separately stressed that its security over the underlying mortgaged assets remains intact and that Chandra’s personal insolvency proceedings do not extinguish the liabilities of the principal corporate borrowers.