NEW DELHI: CBI on Tuesday submitted a closure report in a Delhi court in a case alleging cheating against former NDTV promoters and directors Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy.
The report cited "insufficient legally admissible evidence" regarding Rs 48 crore loss suffered by ICICI Bank during a loan settlement in 2009. In 2017, CBI filed an FIR against the Roys and others, alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal misconduct under various IPC sections and Prevention of Corruption Act.
The FIR was based on a complaint by Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities Ltd, who claimed that RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd, associated with the Roys, had obtained a Rs 500 crore loan from India Bulls Pvt Limited to acquire a 20% stake in NDTV through a public open offer.
According to the FIR, RRPR Holdings also secured a Rs 375 crore loan (with Rs 350 crore disbursed) from ICICI Bank at 19% annual interest rate to repay the India Bulls loan. Dutt accused ICICI Bank of colluding, committing fraud, and conspiring with NDTV promoters to facilitate the transfer of ownership of a news broadcasting company to a shell company, violating various regulations and norms.
The FIR stated that the Roys pledged their entire shareholding as collateral for this loan, failing to report the pledging to SEBI, stock exchanges, or Union ministry of information and broadcasting.
Within a year, ICICI Bank agreed to a foreclosure of the loan, which allegedly resulted in a Rs 48 crore loss for the bank due to a partial interest waiver.
In a separate case filed in 2019, CBI is investigating the Roys for allegedly violating foreign direct investment (FDI) rules between 2007 and 2009. The agency claims that an NDTV-incorporated company in London received a total FDI of US $163.43 million and invested the funds in various NDTV subsidiaries through complex transactions. The investigation in this case is ongoing.
The report cited "insufficient legally admissible evidence" regarding Rs 48 crore loss suffered by ICICI Bank during a loan settlement in 2009. In 2017, CBI filed an FIR against the Roys and others, alleging criminal conspiracy, cheating, and criminal misconduct under various IPC sections and Prevention of Corruption Act.
The FIR was based on a complaint by Sanjay Dutt of Quantum Securities Ltd, who claimed that RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd, associated with the Roys, had obtained a Rs 500 crore loan from India Bulls Pvt Limited to acquire a 20% stake in NDTV through a public open offer.
According to the FIR, RRPR Holdings also secured a Rs 375 crore loan (with Rs 350 crore disbursed) from ICICI Bank at 19% annual interest rate to repay the India Bulls loan. Dutt accused ICICI Bank of colluding, committing fraud, and conspiring with NDTV promoters to facilitate the transfer of ownership of a news broadcasting company to a shell company, violating various regulations and norms.
The FIR stated that the Roys pledged their entire shareholding as collateral for this loan, failing to report the pledging to SEBI, stock exchanges, or Union ministry of information and broadcasting.
Within a year, ICICI Bank agreed to a foreclosure of the loan, which allegedly resulted in a Rs 48 crore loss for the bank due to a partial interest waiver.
In a separate case filed in 2019, CBI is investigating the Roys for allegedly violating foreign direct investment (FDI) rules between 2007 and 2009. The agency claims that an NDTV-incorporated company in London received a total FDI of US $163.43 million and invested the funds in various NDTV subsidiaries through complex transactions. The investigation in this case is ongoing.
