Former Lodha director booked in ₹6.67 crore fraud case on company's complaint

Mumbai Police have registered a fresh First Information Report (FIR), the formal record that starts a criminal investigation, against former Lodha Developers director Rajendra Lodha and five others. The case alleges a fraud of ₹6.67 crore. The FIR was registered on 22 October 2026 at the NM Joshi Marg police station in Mumbai, after a complaint from the real estate company. The allegations are yet to be tested before a court.

What the complaint alleges

According to the FIR as reported, the case concerns a 2019 land development transaction in Bhiwandi. The complaint alleges that this deal was linked to the allotment of a residential flat in South Mumbai that the company was developing. A company whose directors had shown interest in buying that flat was brought into the arrangement, the complaint says.

The complaint sets out several payments. The flat carried an original valuation of ₹6.86 crore. The complaint says a discount of ₹1.50 crore was authorised, bringing the effective price to ₹5.36 crore. The buying company's directors allegedly paid ₹36 lakh directly to Lodha Developers. The complaint also says a claimed brokerage of ₹5 crore for services in the Bhiwandi deal was directed to be adjusted against the balance due on the flat before allotment. A separate payment of ₹17 lakh was made to a third person on the basis that he was in possession of the Bhiwandi parcel. These are the complaint's allegations and have not been tested in court.

The company's internal review of financial files from the period raised concerns about the land deal, the brokerage credits and the flat transfer, the reports say. Police are examining the valuation used for the claimed brokerage and the formal title deeds for the Bhiwandi land.

Charges and the wider case

The FIR cites sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the criminal code that replaced the Indian Penal Code in 2024. The cited sections are 318(3), 318(4), 316(5) and 3(5). Sections 318 deal with cheating and dishonesty, section 316 with criminal breach of trust, and section 3(5) with acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention. Being named in an FIR is not a finding of guilt.

This is not the first criminal case against Rajendra Lodha. Mumbai Crime Branch arrested him in September 2025 in a separate ₹85 crore fraud case, also registered at NM Joshi Marg police station. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in February 2026 in a money-laundering case. On 21 September 2026, the Bombay High Court set aside the ED remand and granted him bail in that money-laundering case. In its reasoning, the court held that the ED's arrest could not rest on material the agency had earlier used to seek permission to interrogate him. That ruling concerned the ED arrest only and did not decide whether the fraud allegations are true.

What it means for buyers and investors

The FIR does not name a project for the South Mumbai flat, and no RERA registration number for that flat has been reported. Buyers of Lodha projects should check the RERA registration of their own project on the Maharashtra RERA website before they rely on it. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, requires registered projects to disclose their approvals, and the Maharashtra RERA authority is the body that enforces that disclosure.

No source reports that this case has affected sales, prices, possession dates or construction at any Lodha project. The case is a criminal complaint made by the company against a former executive. It is not a regulatory order against the developer, and the developer is not an accused in the FIR.

What happens next

Police are expected to examine the wider transaction trail and the roles of other people in the alleged financial dealings. No dates have been announced for any hearing or court proceeding on this FIR. Any further step, including a chargesheet or a court order on bail or custody in this case, will be the next point to watch.