Bathla founders hide wealth in relatives' names as $3.4 bn collapse unfolds

Records show Bhart Bhushan, the sole director of Universal Property Group trading as Bathla, resides in a deteriorating unit above closed shops in Greystanes, a property registered to Neetu Dawar, who holds several Bathla-linked directorships. His brother Rajinder Mohan uses a similar unit for official filings, while nephews Raj and Jai Mohan own the $5.5 million Sierra Morena mansion in Dural, with $1.5 million of renovations tied to Bathla’s development applications.

A separate 5.6-hectare site at Mt Vernon also lists Bathla as the applicant for an upscale residence, though construction has not begun. Eight months before the collapse, Bathla’s Girraween headquarters were transferred to a trust for $29 million and leased back. The group entered voluntary administration last month with about $3.4 billion owed, after a “perfect storm” of market slowdown, tax reforms and higher building costs. Regulators issued dozens of prohibition and safety notices against Bathla’s projects in the weeks preceding the administration.