Subhash Chandra, founder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd
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The legal and financial controversies surrounding Subhash Chandra, founder of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) and Essel Group, are far from over. Now, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked him and others on charges of misappropriating a loan of ₹1,322 crore borrowed from LIC Housing Finance Ltd. (LICHFL).The CBI acted on a complaint received from LICHFL on August 31 this year, accusing Chandra and others of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and criminal breach of trust in connection with defaulted loan facilities.It granted a loan of ₹500 crore to Vasant Sagar Properties Private Ltd. and Pan India Infra Projects Private Ltd. for business expansion after receiving a “letter of continuing guarantee” from Subhash Chandra on March 28, 2018. Chandra also provided a certificate issued by DJM & Co. stating that his net worth was ₹59,113.21 crore as of March 31, 2017.Rental DiscountingAnother loan of ₹480 crore was extended to Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services Private Ltd. and Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures Private Ltd. as a “rental discounting facility” under the Scheme of Rental Securitisation. This, too, was granted after LICHFL secured a letter of continuing guarantee from Chandra on August 10, 2018. In this case, the loan facility was approved on the basis of a certificate issued by MPJ & Co. and submitted by Chandra, stating that his net worth was ₹40,562 crore.“Thereafter, defaults occurred in the Vasant Sagar loan facility and the Digital loan facility,” the CBI FIR stated.Net-Worth TwistAccording to the complaint filed with the premier investigating agency, Chandra, during subsequent proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, “categorically denied having the net worth stated in the certificates” he had submitted to LICHFL for approval of the loans.Chandra, acting in collusion with the borrowers — Vasant Sagar Properties, Pan India Infraprojects, Digital Subscriber Management, Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures — and their officers and directors, allegedly defrauded and cheated LICHFL into advancing loans that were subsequently misappropriated, the complaint to the CBI stated.He allegedly created false documents to indicate an inflated and false net worth in order to deceive LICHFL into disbursing funds to the principal borrowers.Under personal insolvency resolution proceedings before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chandra proposed a repayment plan of ₹6.25 crore against total admitted creditor claims of over ₹22,000 crore. While the plan saw initial NCLT approval, it faced strong resistance from financial institutions like LICHFL.Chandra’s office clarified that the large claim figures stemmed from corporate loan personal guarantees rather than direct personal borrowings.Published on September 5, 2026
