Fact gap in the Singh brothers and RSSB guru financial fraud saga

A few days ago I wrote about the latest turn of events in the fascinating drama of two once-billionaire brothers (Malvinder and Shivinder Singh), their guru relative (Gurinder Singh Dhillon), and the guru's right hand man (Sunil Godhwani).  In that post, "Delhi Police financial fraud charges point to RSSB guru's involvement," I noted that there is a fact gap between the Singh brothers and Godhwani being charged with money laundering, and the apparent funneling of much, most, or all of that money into the pockets of Dhillon, his family and close associates. So important questions remain to be answered. Such…

Delhi Police financial fraud charges point to RSSB guru’s involvement

Below is a story in today's The Economic Times that appears to confirm previous reporting in the Indian financial press about the involvement of Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), in financial fraud. I've boldfaced the mentions of Dhillon and RSSB.  The story restates what already was known. Money from Religare Finvest was diverted into shell companies, many or most of which were controlled by followers of RSSB. These were unsecured loans that reportedly went into the pockets of the Dhillon family. See two previous posts of mine on this subject. RSSB guru identified as beneficiary…

Money laundering case leaves questions about Dhillon family involvement

It's difficult to know what to make of a development in the financial fraud saga involving the Singh brothers, Sunil Godhwani, and Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Godhwani was the guru's right-hand man and personal financial advisor. An India Today story (see below) says that India's Enforcement Directorate has charged Shivinder and Malvinder Singh, plus Godhwani, with money laundering. But details are lacking as to how and why this occurred, and who the ultimate beneficiary was of the laundered funds. Also, the story says that the amount of money in question is only Rs 150…

On being a Technicolor person in a black and white world

Recently someone sent me a message saying that it had been quite a while since I'd written about Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB), the spiritual organization based in India that I was an active member of for 35 years. This person wanted another RSSB post. Well, though usually I write about what's on my mind (I have three blogs that represent different parts of my mind), and RSSB rarely makes an appearance in my psyche unless there's some news about the RSSB guru being reported in the Indian financial press, responsive blogger that I am, here's a RSSB-related post. The…

Yes, I’ve changed my mind about spirituality. That’s a good thing.

Today a commenter on one of my blog posts said something astoundingly obvious -- that what I write about now is different from what I wrote about five or ten years ago. Well, duh... I'm constantly changing, as are we all. I learn, grow, evolve, change my mind, look upon things differently.  Since I've published a book that consists of Church of the Churchless posts from the early years of this blog, 2004 to 2006, I'm well aware of how my approach to spirituality has changed since then. If you read Break Free of Dogma, and naturally everybody should, you'll…

Indian Express story describes paradox of the RSSB guru

Today a commenter shared a link to a story by The Indian Express that profiles an Indian religious organization, Radha Soami Satsang Beas, and the guru who leads RSSB, Gurinder Singh Dhillon. (See below.) The story doesn't break new ground, but it is interesting nonetheless. What struck me is the contradiction between a quote from volunteers who guard the gates of the RSSB headquarters as they tried to explain why bags, mobile phones, and cameras have to be deposited before entering the headquarters, “you leave the material world outside as you journey to your inner self,” and the fact that…

Why the RSSB guru has broken an initiate’s heart

Here's a comment on a recent blog post from Alexander Black that I found to be moving. People put a lot of faith in the morality of gurus and other spiritual leaders. When a leader acts badly, it causes pain among those who trusted them. (I corrected a few typos in the comment.) As an initiate of Gurinder Singh it breaks my heart how he has lost the moral high ground by getting so deeply involved with the Singh brothers’ illegal and criminal financial dealings. As Satsangis we seek to find the spiritual truth by practicing meditation every day. Isn’t…

Great comment about RSSB truth-telling

Here's a comment by "j" on a recent blog post about Gurinder Singh Dhillon's involvement in a financial fraud investigation that I heartily agree with.  Truth needs to be spoken. Journalists, in India and elsewhere, do a good job of revealing truth, by and large. Yes, sometimes they make mistakes, as do we all. But the stories in the Indian financial press about the RSSB guru's alleged role in financial fraud have been almost entirely accurate, and I've been pleased to share them on this blog. I'll continue to do so.  Sure, I know that some devotees of Radha Soami…

RSSB guru is being shielded by Indian agencies, says Malvinder’s attorney

This accusation has been made before by attorneys for Malvinder Singh, and it was made again last Tuesday, November 26. Here's a LiveMint story about the latest turn of events in the ongoing saga of how a guru, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, appears to be deeply involved in financial fraud. I'll comment on this development following the story. NEW DELHI : Delhi High court on Tuesday heard arguments on Enforcement Directorate’s plea for custodial interrogation of former promoter of Fortis Healthcare Malvinder Singh and former Managing Director of Religare Enterprises Sunil Godhwani in a money-laundering case related to alleged misappropriation of…

Shabnam Dhillon, wife of RSSB guru, has died

I just received this message from someone. Babaji refers to Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. It's a sad day for the Dhillon family and the millions of RSSB devotees. I'm no longer one of them, but I share in the sadness of Shabnam Dhillon's death.  UPDATE: Below is a message from Radha Soami Satsang Beas about Shabnam Dhillon's death. And there's a hindustan times story about her passing. Second update: There's a Business Today story about Shabnam Dhillon's death. Shabnam Dhillon, wife of Radha Soami Satsang Beas head Gurinder Singh Dhillion, has passed away in London.…

RSSB guru and his family ordered to submit financial information

Thanks to commenters on this blog who shared links to these stories, here's additional reporting in the Indian financial press about the financial fraud saga involving the Singh brothers and their cousin, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB). Neither story appears to be good news for Dhillon and his family. They've been ordered to submit income tax returns, bank statements, and balance sheets related to financial transactions that, according to the High Court of Delhi, concern money owed to Malvinder Singh and public companies once controlled by him. This seems to show that authorities view…

Court seeks update on criminal complaint against RSSB guru and others

Below are two stories in the Indian financial press relating to the criminal complaint filed in February 2019 by Malvinder Singh against his cousin, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. (A Bloomberg story said that an investigation had been opened.) Malvinder's lawyer requested that the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing provide a report on what actions have been taken on the complaint. A court has ordered that this happen by December 12. I've been wondering about the status of the complaint, since the High Court of Delhi has ordered Dhillon and his family to repay money…

RSSB guru’a wife deeply involved in real estate deal

This is a follow-up to yesterday's blog post, "Here's an example of Dhillon family connections to shell companies." Someone just sent me a PDF file of an analyst's 2014 report on a company owned by Shabnam Dhillon, the wife of the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. Download SGGD-Projects-Development-PPMLD_335Cr-Rationale-9May2014 The company, SGGD Projects Development Pvt Ltd, is one of the 56 entities, many or most controlled by the Dhillon family, that the High Court of Delhi has ordered money to be recovered from. A screenshot of part of the report shows how deeply Shabnam Dhillon, and the Dhillon family in…

Here’s an example of Dhillon family connections to shell companies

Recently I received a message from someone who replicated part of the research that journalists with the Indian financial press have been doing in connection with the financial scandal involving the Singh brothers, their guru cousin (Gurinder Singh Dhillon), and close associates of the Dhillon family. I'm sharing what this person learned by delving into public business records for several reasons. One, it's interesting. Two, it shows what lies beneath the many stories published by the Indian financial press, which some defenders of the Radha Soami Satsang Beas guru wrongly call "fake news." Three, it points to the fact that…

Story about Gurinder Singh Dhillon and RSSB casts light on legal problems

Check out an excellent lengthy story about a guru, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the Radha Soami Satsang Beas (RSSB) organization that he leads, and the financial scandal the Dhillon family and his close associates are connected to.Download Gurinder Singh Dhillon — the music & film-loving Radha Soami head at heart of Fortis crisis The reporter who wrote ThePrint story, Nandita Singh, emailed me with questions, which I responded to in writing. Unfortunately, I didn't proofread my reply closely enough and left out a word, "no," in the quote included in the final paragraph of the story, where I meant to say…

RSSB guru and his family told to provide evidence of no liabilities to Singh brothers

In addition to stories I shared in two other blog posts about today's developments in the High Court of Delhi case involving the Singh brothers and their relative, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, below is another story from The Indian Express. The court is turning up the heat on the Dhillon family and others who, according to the Singh brothers, owe money to them that would enable Malvinder and Shivinder to pay a $500 million settlement to Daiichi Sankyo, a Japanese firm that got the settlement after it bought a pharmaceutical firm owned by the…

High Court delays hearing involving RSSB guru and others to February 5

Here's another story relating to the involvement of Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, in irregular financial transactions.  Today's Economic Times story casts more light on the affidavit submitted by Dhillon in response to a High Court of Delhi order. Yesterday I shared another story on the same subject. As you can read below, Dhillon admits that his sons participated in suspicious "round trip" transfers of money between RHC Holding and shell companies controlled wholly or in part by the Dhillon family, where money would be paid and repaid so rapidly, it didn't show up on…

Malvinder Singh arrested by Enforcement Directorate, leaving questions unanswered

Well, the Bollywood'ish financial fraud drama involving the Singh brothers and their relative, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas, has taken another turn -- with more curves in the legal road seemingly lying ahead. A story in The Economic Times (below) says that India's Enforcement Directorate has just arrested Malvinder Singh and Sunil Godhwani, who previously was the guru's right hand man and personal financial adviser.  Previously Malvinder and Shivinder Singh, along with Godhwani, had been arrested by the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) of the Delhi police. So now they've been re-arrested by an organization that…

RSSB guru admits to financial deals with Singh brothers

A commenter on this blog recently shared a link to this story in The Indian Express. It's a prelude to the November 14 hearing before  the High Court of Delhi, where parties who allegedly owe money to the Singh brothers (Malvinder and Shivinder) have been ordered to appear as part of the $500 million settlement award to Daiichi.Download Financial deals with Ranbaxy brothers admits Beas sect head | Business News The Indian Express l found it sort of curious that Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the RSSB guru, filed an affidavit admitting to being part of an illegal financial transaction just two…

Good overview of Singh brothers/RSSB guru financial mess

This LiiStudio story is about a month old, but I'm sharing it because it provides good background material on the fascinating drama surrounding the Singh brothers and their relative, Gurinder Singh Dhillon, the guru of Radha Soami Satsang Beas. There are numerous strands in the tangled web of this tale of fraud, loans gone bad, and deceit. Hopefully some of the strands will be made more clear in the upcoming November 14 hearing of the High Court of Delhi involving those responsible for payment of a $500 million award to a Japanese company that bought the Singh brothers' pharmaceutical firm.…