An FIR has been registered by Bandra police against Shashidhar Jagdishan (60), managing director and CEO of HDFC Bank,and seven others under IPC sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 409 (breach of trust by bankers etc), 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention). The FIR was filed by Prashant Mehta, a permanent trustee of Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMM Trust) against Jagdishan and seven former trustees. This follows an order of a metropolitan magistrate. The bank has denied the allegations and claimed that the registration of FIR was a part of efforts to thwart the recovery of loans of over Rs 65 cr.
For the past few years, a running battle has been going on within the high-profile hospital betweeen two factions of trustees and former trustees. So far five FIRs have been filed, but this is the first time an FIR has been lodged against the MD and CEO of a large financial institution.
The hospital permanent trustee Prashant Mehta has demanded immediate suspension and prosecution of leading private sector lender HDFC Bank CEO and MD Sashidhar Jagdishan.
“This is not a private feud or a commercial misunderstanding. It is a deep rooted criminal betrayal of fiduciary obligations, charity laws, public money and rule of law. Sashidhar Jagdishan has abused his institutional position to suppress truth and subvert justice,” said Prashant Mehta at a press conference along with Parambir Singh, executive director of the hospital and retired police commissioner of Mumbai.
Mehta maintained that ``these FIRs are not based on allegations alone, but are substantiated by seized cash registers, handwritten diaries, email trails showing bribery attempts, misuse of CSR funds to bribe hospital staff and international banking records and forged payment vouchers." He said a permanent trustee Kishore Mehta (84) was subjected to over 100 legal summons.
Among other things, the FIR alleges that Rs 2.05 cr in unaccounted cash was paid to Jagdishan by former trustees and the same is recorded in a seized cash diary. Deposits of Rs 25 cr of the Trust funds were made into HDFC Bank account without any resolution or approval. Attempted bribe of Rs 1.5 cr was falsely presented as a CSR donation to influence senior hospital doctors to conceal or destroy records. Mehta accused Jagdishan of using his position ``to protect a faction of ousted trustees, aided in suppressing asset disclosures and attempted to fabricate a conviction against lawful stake holder of the Trust - all while acting from the highest office of one of India's most powerful banks."
Param Bir Singh clarified that the allegations of money laundering and embezzlement were not directed against HDFC Bank but focused on its MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan.
The bank has categorically denied all the allegations levelled against its MD and CEO Jagdishan. A spokesperson said false and malicious prosecution was being initiated against Jagdishan to thwart recovery of over Rs. 65 crs. “Having failed miserably to contest the Bank's claims and the defaulter status of the trust, family members are grossly misusing Lilavati Trust's name and sought to intimidate the Bank and its senior personnel by filing a false complaint,” HDFC Bank spokesperson said. She said similar false and fabricated legal actions were instituted to thwart the recovery process in the past.
