Anil Ambani’s debt-ridden Reliance admin accuses Hinduja Group firm of contempt, says it deposits Rs 2750 crore in...

The Administrator of Anil Ambani's debt-ridden Reliance Capital (RCAP) has filed an affidavit with NCLT, accusing IIHL of non-compliance as the Hinduja Group firm failed to meet the conditions set by the tribunal in a July 23 order.

In its affidavit, the Administrator informed NCLT that instead of depositing Rs 2,750 crore in the designated escrow accounts of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) in India and abroad, IndusInd International Holdings Ltd (IIHL) has deposited the money in its own accounts as well as the promoters' accounts, PTI reported.

IIHL in a separate affidavit had said it has funds and the same will be transferred once the escrow account is in place which has conditions listed out. For opening an escrow account, there are terms and conditions which are based on an agreement signed bilaterally and if the terms and conditions are met or not met, the trustee decides the fate of funds accordingly, an IIHL spokesperson said.

According to sources, CoC and administrator are misleading when they say that IIHL has not transferred the funds to the escrow account opened unilaterally. As per the NCLT order dated July 23, the successful bidder, IIHL, had to comply with certain conditions by July 31, 2024. These conditions included depositing the initial equity amount of Rs 250 crore in a domestic escrow account designated by CoC and Rs 2,500 crore in an offshore escrow account again designated by the lenders by July 31.

However, the Administrator alleged that IIHL deposited in the accounts of Harsha Ashok Hinduja, Shom Ashok Hinduja, and Ashok P. Hinduja. Similarly, Rs 2,500 crore was deposited in IIHL's own accounts with the Standard Chartered Bank, Mauritius and State Bank of Mauritius.

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The Administrator informed the NCLT, Mumbai bench that as per the order, the escrow accounts were opened well in advance and the details of the same were shared with the IIHL on July 27 but the company failed to deposit the money in the CoC designated accounts. Besides, IIHL has failed to provide the details of the binding term sheets for raising Rs 7,300 crore debt to the Monitoring Committee.

The hearing on IIHL's plea at NCLT is scheduled for next week. After IIHL's delay on the third deadline on May 27, the NCLT on July 23 gave the entity time till August 10 to conclude the deal. The Hinduja Group firm cited pending regulatory approvals and compliance requirements as reasons for the extension.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on February 27, 2024, approved IIHL's Rs 9,650-crore resolution plan for Reliance Capital. In November 2021, RBI superseded the board of Reliance Capital on governance issues and payment defaults by the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company. The central bank had appointed Nageswara Rao Y as the administrator, who invited bids in February 2022 to take over the company. Reliance Capital had a debt of over Rs 40,000 crore.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)