Two days after the Supreme Court cancelled the registration and lease of the embattled Amrapali group for diversion of home buyers' money, an audit report has given evidence linking cricketer and former Team India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to the tainted real estate builders.
The foresic audit report, accepted by the apex court on Tuesday, pointed to "sham agreements" between Rhiti Sports Management Pvt Ltd (RSMPL), promoted by Dhoni, and Amrapali Group. In addition, the Indian Express has reported that Dhoni's wife "Sakshi Dhoni was a director and a 25 per cent shareholder in a group company called Amrapali Mahi Developers Pvt Ltd (AMDPL), where Amrapali Group CMD Anil Kumar Sharma held the remaining 75 per cent stake (till September 2014, as per records available)".
The report added that AMDPL, incorporated in December 2011, was among the 47 Amrapali Group companies that allegedly received homebuyers' fund diverted by the real estate group to its subsidiaries. RoC filings of AMDPL do not reveal any operations, revenue and profit for the financial years 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2013-14, for which data is available, the report said.
Meanwhile, the forensic audit report accepted by the top court on Tuesday said that Amrapali Sapphire Developers Pvt Ltd had paid Rs 6.52 crore, out of the total amount of Rs 42.22 crore, to Rhiti Sports during 2009-2015. Several agreements were entered into by Amrapali Group with RSMPL, including one of November 22, 2009, under which Dhoni would make himself available to the chairman for three days along with one representative of RSMPL, it said.
"There are no documents held on record for compliance of this condition," forensic auditors Ravi Bhatia and Pawan Kumar Aggarwal said in their report. "This clearly shows that these agreements have just been made for payment of amounts to Rhiti Sports Management Private Limited Company are sham agreements and made just for making payments to RSMPL," the report said.
Amid all these, in April this year, Dhoni had moved the apex court seeking protection of his ownership rights on an over 5,500-square feet penthouse he booked 10 year ago in a project of Amrapali Group. Dhoni was the brand ambassador of Amrapali Group and carried out a number of transactions with respect to endorsement of its projects. He has entered into agreements with other group companies as well.
(With PTI inputs)
