Sahara Property Sale Takes Another Turn
NEW DELHI: Criticising Sahara over the delay in sale of its overseas properties, the Supreme Court now wants an asset management agency to handle it. This came after Sahara and US-based Mirach Capital failed to clinch a deal for sale of the Indian conglomerate’s overseas hotels.
“Everything is getting into some problem. We can’t be stuck in this kind of situation. We will ask the committee headed by Justice BN Aggarwal to examine this,” the top court told Sahara.The court also asked the amicus curiae Shekar Nafade to examine how the sale to property can be handed over to an asset management agency.
Sahara and Mirach Capital have accused one another for scuttling the deal. The US company was supposed to arrange a loan deal to help Sahara raise the bail amount for its jailed chief Subrata Roy. Mr Roy has been in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since March last year and his bail amount was fixed at Rs 10,000 crore by the Supreme Court.
The Mirach deal was supposed to involve the transfer of loans taken by Sahara from Bank of China for its three overseas hotels – The Plaza and Dream Downtown in New York and the Grosvenor House in London – to a new syndicate of investors.
Both Sahara and Mirach Capital are now engaged in a war of words over the failure of the deal. Sahara has accused Mirach of forging bank letters. The US company said that Sahara is deliberately scuttling the deal.”People who are offering Rs 5000-10,000 crores are producing forged letters. What kind of people are they?” the top court asked Sahara.
Sahara lawyers told court that the company is a victim and it has filed an FIR. Sahara will file an affidavit about all facts, its lawyers told the court. Sahara also informed that it got required the Reserve Bank’s permission for selling overseas properties.Mr Nafade, the amicus curiae in the Sahara case, also criticised the company saying that it is difficult to believe that a company with such a vast experience, can it be taken for a ride.
The top court asked Sahara to file its affidavit and then it will take up the case for hearing.The Supreme Court had permitted Sahara to sell its overseas properties to enable it to pay around Rs 26,000 crore as directed by the top court related to refund of its investors.
