Former SBI chief Pratip Chaudhuri granted bail in loan scam case

Former SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

A Jaisalmer court on November 9 granted bail to former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Pratip Chaudhuri in an alleged loan scam case.

The bail comes over a week after Chaudhuri was sent to a 14-day judicial custody in connection with the case which involves the sale of a hotel belonging to the Godawan Group in Jaisalmer -- which is a non-performing asset (NPA) -- to Alchemist ARC in an alleged fraudulent manner.

Chaudhuri's plea seeking bail was heard by Additional District and Sessions Judge Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit.

The former banker had been arrested on October 31 from his residence in Delhi. The case against him was registered in 2015 for seizing the hotel property in a loan settlement case and allegedly selling it at a throwaway price.

Chaudhuri later became a director on the board of Alchemist ARC, the company which purchased the hotel, the prosecution said.

Notably, the ex-SBI chief was taken into arrest following a petition filed by former directors of the hotel property with the Chief Judicial Magistrate - Jaisalmer.

The ex-directors accused him of facilitating the sale of the Rs 200-crore property at a price of Rs 25 crore to Alchemist ARC, after the SBI had seized the hotel following a default on loan.

The petitioners claimed that the Godawan properties’ NPA was assigned to Alchemist Asset Reconstruction Company in 2014, six months after Chaudhuri resigned as the SBI chairman and joined the board of Alchemist ARC.

Refuting claims of cutting a sweetheart deal, the SBI has said in a statement that due process as per the bank’s policy was followed during the NPA loan account sale to Alchemist ARC. “It appears from the copies of the proceedings now accessed by us that there have been some factual inaccuracies in the complainant’s version submitted to the Hon’ble court,” the bank said.

It further stated that the ‘Garh Rajwada’ hotel in Jaisalmer, which was financed by the SBI in 2007, had remained incomplete for more than three years. After the main promoter passed away in the year 2010, it had turned into a non-performing asset by June 2010.

(With PTI inputs)