Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) on Friday said State Bank of India (SBI), one of the lenders of Religare Finvest Ltd (RFL), has removed RFL’s record, reported by it as `fraud’, from the Central Fraud Registry database.
RFL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of REL.
This decision follows an order of the Delhi High Court on December 18, 2023. While the court had directed India’s largest bank to remove the fraud tag, SBI informed RFL on Friday through a formal communication.
REL said in a regulatory filing that in March 2023, RFL, achieved a key milestone when it completed a One-Time Settlement (OTS) with 16 lenders through organic collections. The company paid more than Rs 9,000 crore to the lenders.
“We are pleased to witness the positive outcome of our efforts. The removal of the fraud tag stands as a testament to the commitment and dedication of the Company’s Board, management and employees in resurrecting RFL and the Group from the brink in the aftermath of fraud perpetrated by the erstwhile promoters and their affiliates and putting it on the path of growth and development. This is a pivotal step in the revival of RFL,’’ Rashmi Saluja, executive chairperson, of REL and CMD RFL said while commenting on the development.
The Central Fraud Registry, established under the Reserve Bank of India (Frauds Classification and Reporting by Commercial Banks and Select FIs) Directions, 2016, is a web-based and searchable database on frauds reported by commercial banks and select financial institutions in terms of Master Directions on classification and reporting of frauds.
The announcement comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate said that it raided companies of the Essel Group in Mumbai.
The agency also claimed that it recovered "incriminating" documents as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation linked to the alleged diversion of funds worth over Rs 2,000 crore from Religare Finvest.
An Essel group spokesperson, however, said no "incriminating" documents were seized during the raids on its two premises and that the company did no wrong.
