Mumbai: A developer has accused his former business partner of cheating him of Rs 11.51 crore by allegedly concealing the prior sale of 19 flats in a slum rehabilitation project at Bandra East and diverting the sale proceeds. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has registered an FIR against Vaman Madye, proprietor of Rajhans Rebuilds and Developers, for cheating, forgery and breach of trust.In his complaint, Basantaraj Sethiya, director of Sethia Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, alleged that Madye fraudulently sold flats in the Vishal Ashiana redevelopment project at Nirmal Nagar in Bandra East without disclosing the transactions to him.According to the police, an MoU, dated October 29, 2010, was executed between Madye and Sethiya Infrastructure Pvt Ltd for the joint development at the Nirmal Nagar site under the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme. As per the agreement, Sethiya’s company was to bear the development expenses and receive 70% share in the salable component, while Madye would retain 30%.Sethiya stated that Clause C(c) of the MoU specifically declared that no third-party rights had been created over the property and that no flats had been sold prior to the agreement. He further claimed that under the arrangement, Sethia Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was granted the authority to sell all salable flats in the project.Subsequently, on January 6, 2011, Sethiya Infrastructure Pvt Ltd was inducted as a partner in Swaraj Associates through an Admission-cum-Retirement Partnership Deed after a partner retired. Sethiya was allegedly appointed managing partner with the authority to execute agreements, allotment letters and sale deeds related to the project.Sethiya alleged that after resuming active involvement in the project following treatment for oral cancer in 2018, he found that Madye had already sold 19 flats both before and after execution of the MoU and partnership deed. He claimed the sale proceeds were allegedly diverted to personal accounts instead of being credited to the partnership firm.Sethiya obtained property records from the sub-registrar’s office and identified details of 16 flats allegedly sold by Madye. The flats included units purchased by various individuals between 2010 and after the partnership deed of January 2011.The complainant alleged that the flats were sold at prices far below prevailing market rates. He estimated the current government valuation of the identified 16 flats, having a combined salable area of 577.66 sqm, at Rs 11.51 crore, while the actual sale consideration shown in agreements was around Rs 3.5 crore.
