Lilavati Hospital Trustee Files Fraud Case Against HDFC Bank CEO in Explosive Claim

With the CEO of HDFC Bank now also named as an accused for allegedly targeting and harassing founder trustee Kishor Mehta, the ongoing conflict between the current trustees and former trustees of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT), which operates the renowned Lilavati Hospital in Bandra West, Mumbai, has intensified.

 In connection with the INR 1,250 crore embezzlement scandal, Prashant Mehta, the current permanent trustee, has filed a formal complaint against the CEO of HDFC Bank and seven other former trustees, including Chetan Mehta and other members of the LKMMT, for criminal breach of trust and deceit.

 Prashant Mehta, a permanent trustee of the LKMMT, filed the FIR in response to an order from a Bandra magistrate court against Sashidharan Jagdishan, the CEO of HDFC Bank, and seven other people, including previous trustee Chetan Mehta. Chetan Mehta and several previous trustees were charged by Prashant Mehta in March with embezzlement of trust funds, money laundering, and other financial violations.

After then, FIRs were filed, and an inquiry was requested from the Enforcement Directorate. Speaking at a press conference on June 7, Prashant Mehta charged that Sasidharan and prior trustees, notably Chetan Mehta, had harassed Kishor Mehta. The Bandra police filed a formal complaint against Sasidharan and the other suspects in accordance with the magistrate's court order.

HDFC Calling it a Strategy to Thwart Recovery

HDFC Bank, a prominent private sector lender, has refuted allegations against its CEO, Sashidharan, asserting that the allegations were intended to impede the recovery process of loans borrowed from the bank by the trustees.

However, Prashant Mehta asserted that Kishor Mehta, who is 84 years old, was continuously harassed by more than 100 court summonses for reporting the operations of the trust. Kishor Mehta passed away in the midst of ongoing legal and medical issues, Prashant Mehta added.

INR 1.5 Crore Bribe-Falsely Presented as CSR Donation: Mehta

The permanent trustee also claimed that senior hospital doctors were bribed with INR 1.5 crore under false pretences of a CSR donation in order to try to hide or destroy important documents. This is neither a personal quarrel nor a business miscommunication, according to Prashant Mehta.

This is a pervasive criminal breach of the rule of law, charity law, fiduciary duties, and public funds. In addition to suppressing the truth, Mr. Sashidhar Jagdishan has obstructed justice by abusing his institutional position. In order to rebuild trust in India's banking and judicial systems, the trust requests that he be removed immediately.

There is substantial documentary evidence to support the complaint against Mr. Jagdishan: A recovered cash diary shows that prior trustees paid Mr. Jagdishan INR 2.05 crore in unauthorised cash transfers.

INR 25 crore in trust funds were illegally deposited into HDFC Bank without any kind of resolution, authorisation, or supervision. Mehta claimed that Mr. Jagdishan and his family received preferential medical care and waivers at Lilavati Hospital in return for their quiet and complicity.