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A special court in Mumbai has remanded Rajendra Lodha, former director of Lodha Developers Ltd, to Enforcement Directorate custody till February 20 in an alleged INR 85 crore money laundering case. The ED's action stems from a cheating and forgery FIR registered by the Mumbai Police crime branch under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Lodha, arrested in the predicate offence in September 2025 and in judicial custody since, was formally arrested by the ED on Thursday. The agency alleges he misused his authority to divert company funds through bogus entities, fabricated MoUs, benami transactions and undervalued land deals, causing wrongful loss exceeding INR 85 crore to the company.
A special PMLA court in Mumbai on Friday sent Rajendra Lodha, a former director of Lodha Developers Ltd, to the Enforcement Directorate's custody till February 20 in connection with an alleged INR 85 crore money laundering case. Advertisement
The ED case is based on a cheating and forgery FIR registered by the Mumbai police's crime branch under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Lodha was arrested in the predicate offence in September last year and has been in judicial custody since then. The ED formally arrested him on Thursday in the money laundering case.
The federal agency produced him before Special PMLA Judge R B Rote and sought his remand for further investigation.
According to the ED, Lodha, who was appointed director in 2015 with authority limited to land acquisition, allegedly overstepped his mandate and orchestrated unauthorised financial transactions. The agency claimed he colluded with his son Sahil and close associates to generate, conceal and launder proceeds of crime, resulting in substantial financial losses to the company.
The ED alleged that company funds were diverted through bogus possession holders and fabricated memoranda of understanding (MoUs). It further claimed that funds were withdrawn in cash, and company land parcels and Transferable Development Rights (TDRs) were alienated at undervalued rates.
Investigators also alleged that Lodha facilitated benami transactions and siphoned money through entities under his control, using company resources for personal benefit and for entities linked to his family. The agency claimed that residential flats were fraudulently allotted under forged permanent alternate accommodation agreements without lawful entitlement.
According to the ED, the total wrongful loss to Lodha Developers exceeds INR 85 crore.
In one instance cited by the agency, land was allegedly purchased through front entities such as Usha Properties and Shreeram Realties and later resold to the company at inflated prices. In another case, 4,150 square metres of company land in Panvel, Navi Mumbai, was allegedly sold to a front entity for INR 48 lakh against a market value of about INR 10 crore, causing a direct loss of INR 9.50 crore.
The probe also revealed a structured bogus possession/barter deal mechanism involving forged MoUs to falsely project individuals as possession holders. Additionally, a land parcel purchased in 2013 in the name of a company employee was allegedly transferred after his death to Lodha's associates and resold to the firm at a significant profit.
The investigation is ongoing.
Source - PTI
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