Mumbai: The Mumbai Police, investigating alleged financial irregularities in the functioning of the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMMT), have summoned six of the 17 individuals named in the FIR, including members of the Mehta family, who once helmed the influential trust.
The FIR, filed by the current management of Lilavati Hospital in Bandra-one of Mumbai's best-known tertiary-care hospitals-alleges that former trustees and vendors linked to them misappropriated ₹1,300 crore over several years. The allegations focus on inflated procurement contracts, irregular financial dealings, and kickbacks that the complainants claim drained the trust's resources and compromised its financial health.
According to sources, all those summoned have sought more time to appear before the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is probing the case. "...most of them are travelling and are either in Belgium or Dubai and therefore have sought time," said an official.
The complaint states that the trust came under renewed scrutiny after a change in the board's composition in 2023. The new trustees reportedly initiated a thorough review of the trust's financial affairs, covering the period between 2006 and 2013, when the previous management was in control. The review allegedly uncovered a complex pattern of financial misconduct involving offshore transactions, fraudulent investments, and irregular transfers disguised as operational expenses. An audit subsequently commissioned by the current trustees reportedly revealed that several payments made during the period in question were routed through intermediary entities with no legitimate business relationship with the trust. The audit also flagged the procurement of medical and surgical supplies at prices far higher than market value, raising suspicions of collusion between certain former trustees and select vendors.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the police have begun examining the audit findings in detail and are scrutinising the role of each individual named in the FIR. "The six persons summoned initially are those whose roles appear central to the financial decisions taken during the years under investigation. Their statements will help the police piece together the chain of transactions," a senior official said.
The FIR, filed by the current management of Lilavati Hospital in Bandra-one of Mumbai's best-known tertiary-care hospitals-alleges that former trustees and vendors linked to them misappropriated ₹1,300 crore over several years. The allegations focus on inflated procurement contracts, irregular financial dealings, and kickbacks that the complainants claim drained the trust's resources and compromised its financial health.
According to sources, all those summoned have sought more time to appear before the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), which is probing the case. "...most of them are travelling and are either in Belgium or Dubai and therefore have sought time," said an official.
The complaint states that the trust came under renewed scrutiny after a change in the board's composition in 2023. The new trustees reportedly initiated a thorough review of the trust's financial affairs, covering the period between 2006 and 2013, when the previous management was in control. The review allegedly uncovered a complex pattern of financial misconduct involving offshore transactions, fraudulent investments, and irregular transfers disguised as operational expenses. An audit subsequently commissioned by the current trustees reportedly revealed that several payments made during the period in question were routed through intermediary entities with no legitimate business relationship with the trust. The audit also flagged the procurement of medical and surgical supplies at prices far higher than market value, raising suspicions of collusion between certain former trustees and select vendors.
Sources familiar with the investigation said the police have begun examining the audit findings in detail and are scrutinising the role of each individual named in the FIR. "The six persons summoned initially are those whose roles appear central to the financial decisions taken during the years under investigation. Their statements will help the police piece together the chain of transactions," a senior official said.
