HDFC Bank shares in focus after CEO named in alleged fraud linked to Lilavati Trust

HDFC Bank shares are likely to be in focus on Monday after its Managing Director and CEO, Sashidhar Jagdishan, was named in a police complaint filed by the Mehta family through the Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMM Trust), which manages Mumbai’s Lilavati Hospital.

The complaint alleges that Jagdishan received Rs 2.05 crore from a former trustee of the LKMM Trust to harass the father of a current trustee. According to a report by NDTV Profit, the FIR was filed following a court order dated May 30 2025, directing police to investigate charges of financial fraud.

The Mehta family claims that this payment is recorded in a handwritten diary, which has been submitted as evidence. They also alleged in court that other key evidence may have been destroyed by former trustees. The court found grounds for the FIR and directed authorities to proceed with the investigation.

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In an official statement issued on Sunday, HDFC Bank strongly denied the allegations, calling them “malicious,” “baseless,” and a “gross misuse of the legal process.”

“These allegations are completely false, outrageous, and constitute a deliberate attempt to derail the bank’s ongoing loan recovery efforts,” the statement said.

The bank clarified that the complaint relates to an old loan recovery case involving Splendour Gems (formerly Beautiful Diamonds), a company promoted by the Mehta family. HDFC Bank stated that dues from the firm stood at Rs 65.22 crore as of May 31 2025, and a recovery certificate was issued by the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) in 2004.

The bank added that members of the Mehta family have filed multiple legal and criminal complaints in response to recovery proceedings. Most of these complaints, it said, have either been dismissed or are currently under legal challenge.

The complaint against Jagdishan comes amid a broader dispute within the Mehta family—descendants of Kishor Mehta and Vijay Mehta—over control of the LKMM Trust. In 2023, the Kishor Mehta faction took control after a prolonged legal battle and initiated a forensic audit.

According to NDTV Profit, the audit allegedly uncovered financial irregularities, including a suspected diversion of Rs 1,200–1,500 crore and unverified claims of occult practices at the hospital. Former trustees have denied all allegations.

Kishor Mehta was also the promoter of Beautiful Diamonds. In 2004, the DRT had ordered Mehta and his son Rajesh Mehta to repay Rs 14.74 crore to HDFC Bank. In 2020, the tribunal ordered their arrest and imposed travel and asset restrictions, which were later put on hold by the Bombay High Court.

In 2024, the High Court observed that the harassment allegations made by the Mehtas appeared to be an attempt to delay repayment.

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