Sebi has issued an interim order against Dhenu Buildcon Infra following allegations of fraudulent fund routing and market manipulation. According to The Economic Times, the regulator found that the company's market capitalisation surged from approximately ₹3 crore to ₹4,925 crore during the examination period, despite minimal business activity and negligible revenues. The investigation covered the period from August 1, 2024 to July 31, 2026, with Sebi examining the company's operations after receiving a reference from the Serious Fraud Investigation Office dated April 20, 2026. The interim order dated August 19 describes the network as a 'closed, self-sustaining financial network' and does not constitute a final finding of fraud, with SEBI's conclusions being prima facie pending further investigation.
Sebi alleges Dhenu Buildcon received ₹1,000 crore as unsecured loans from seven entities through 46 separate credit transactions between December 24-31, 2024. As reported by The Economic Times, the regulator found that these were not genuine independent loans but part of a layered round-tripping scheme where the same pool of funds was repeatedly routed through several companies and brought back to Dhenu Buildcon. The initial identified pool of ₹25.05 crore was repeatedly moved through corporate accounts, showing cumulative inflows of ₹1,000 crore. SEBI traced these transactions backwards and identified 28 distinct routing patterns, with one example showing about ₹25 crore moving through several entities before reaching Dhenu. The company's bank balance never exceeded ₹26 crore during this period, despite claiming to have received ₹1,000 crore in loans. About ₹996.1 crore flowed out of Dhenu to five entities, including Genesis Developers & Holdings, Hillridge Investments, Abhijit Trading and Intellectual Builders. According to CNBC TV18, SEBI found that a base amount of around ₹25 crore was allegedly circulated repeatedly through a network of connected entities to create the appearance of fresh funding into Dhenu Buildcon, with the alleged arrangement involving round-tripping of funds where the ultimate original source of the money remained unverified.
Sebi found that the share price rose 194.62% from ₹2.79 on August 1, 2024 to ₹8.22 on July 31, 2026, while the market cap increased from ₹3 crore to ₹4,925 crore. According to The Economic Times, on a high-low basis, the price rose 315.41% to ₹11.59 on July 1, 2026. The regulator identified six preferential allottees who together held 99.70% of the company's diluted equity share capital after the preferential allotment approved on December 27, 2025. On December 21, 2024, Dhenu increased its borrowing limit to ₹1,000 crore, and between December 24-31, the company received ₹1,000 crore through 46 transactions. On July 20, 2025, Dhenu proposed converting about ₹840 crore of the purported loans into equity, and on December 27, 2025, it allotted 5,91,54,92,940 shares to six entities at ₹1.42 each. The shares began trading in February 2026, with their lock-in expiring on August 15, 2026, and allottees beginning sales of 17,444 shares for about ₹1.34 lakh on August 17-18. According to CNBC TV18, around ₹840 crore of the purported loan liabilities were subsequently converted into equity shares of Dhenu Buildcon through a preferential allotment in December 2025, compounding the effect of the arrangement by turning the purported loan claims into securities representing nearly the entire diluted equity capital of the company.
Sebi has imposed comprehensive restrictions while investigations continue into the alleged fraudulent activities. The regulator has barred six entities from selling their Dhenu Buildcon shares and restrained two others from accessing the securities market. According to Business Standard, Sebi has also directed the company not to undertake any corporate actions such as name change, alteration in capital structure, bonus issue, rights issue, stock split, dividends, etc. The regulator named Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain as key participants in the alleged scheme, involved in operational and financial control over connected entities. SEBI has restrained the six allottees from disposing of their Dhenu shares and barred Surendra Jain and Virendra Jain from buying, selling or dealing in securities or associating with the securities market. Dhenu has also been restricted from undertaking specified corporate actions. The regulator's investigation relied on WhatsApp messages, call records, common shareholding, common directors, common addresses and site visits, which showed that the entities were not operating independently. According to CNBC TV18, Sebi said WhatsApp communications preceding the transactions contained discussions concerning Dhenu Buildcon, bank accounts, documentation, loan agreements, movement of funds and a proposed preferential allotment. The regulator also noted commonalities among the entities involved, including links through persons, addresses, banking arrangements, shareholders and directors. Several entities involved did not appear to have operations or a physical presence during site visits, while their financial and operational profiles appeared disproportionate to the scale of transactions attributed to them.
Despite the fraud allegations, Dhenu Buildcon had delivered strong financial results for the quarter ended June 2026, with net profit surging 180% to ₹0.84 crore compared to ₹0.30 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The company's sales revenue experienced substantial growth of 283.87%, rising to ₹1.19 crore in Q1 FY2026 from ₹0.31 crore in the same period last year. However, as reported by The Economic Times, the company's revenue from operations was nil in FY23 and FY24, and remained below ₹1 crore in FY25 and FY26. The company's operating profit margin (OPM) improved to 95.80% in the June 2026 quarter, demonstrating enhanced operational efficiency despite the fraud allegations. According to CNBC TV18, SEBI said the alleged round-tripping had no apparent commercial substance and created the appearance of repeated fresh funding, with the subsequent conversion of around ₹840 crore into equity compounding the effect of the arrangement by turning the purported loan claims into securities representing nearly the entire diluted equity capital of the company.
