Bathla founder's properties held in relatives' names as firm owes $3.4 billion
Bathla founder Bhart Bhushan's properties are registered to relatives, a strategy known as asset protection, as the construction firm enters administration.
Bathla Group entered administration last month owing an estimated $3.4 billion after what founder Bhart Bhushan called a "perfect storm" of falling sales, tax changes and higher building costs. An ABC investigation found his residential properties are not in his name.
Bhushan lives at a rundown unit above shuttered shops in Greystanes, which is owned by Neetu Dawar, a company director. Luxury homes linked to his family sit elsewhere: his nephews own a $5.5 million mansion in Dural where renovations worth $1.5 million have stalled.
Insolvency experts say holding property outside your own name is a well-known way to shield assets from creditors. The ABC notes it is not alleging wrongdoing.
Bhushan did not respond to questions.
- 3.4 billion dollars
- Bathla debt
- 5.5 million dollars in 2020
- Dural mansion purchase
- Neetu Dawar
- Greystanes property owner
- Over 200
- Staff stood down
Why it mattersAsset structures matter in insolvency: creditors can only pursue what is legally in a person's name.
AustraliaThe Bathla collapse affects thousands of home buyers and construction workers; this reveals how founder wealth was structured before the company failed.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 12 d ago
