SC orders forensic audit of 46 Amrapali group companies

The Supreme Court on September 6 ordered a forensic audit of all 46 firms of the embattled Amrapali group and the directors’ assets within a period of two months to assess the extent of financial wrongdoings.

It also directed that 16 properties of the company, including commercial, be auctioned in the first round to generate funds for NBCC to start construction, sources present at the hearing said.

Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for Bank of Baroda that had initiated insolvency proceedings against Amrapali, had earlier said its forensic audit of some companies showed diversion of Rs 2,765 crore.

NBCC had proposed to the court that it can start construction on the 16 stalled projects with a capital of Rs 1,000 crore and the remaining amount of Rs 7,500 crore could be given in quarterly instalments of Rs 250 crore, legal sources said.

The next date of hearing has been fixed for September 12.

The name of the entities who would conduct the forensic audit would be finalised in a day or two and the exercise will be completed in two months, legal sources said.

"In the circumstances, we direct forensic audit of 46 companies of Amrapali Group including Jotindra Steel and Tubes Ltd. Let the forensic audit of assets of all directors including movable and immovable, their family members and related companies. Let the forensic audit be completed within two months and reports be submitted in the court," the bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and U U Lalit said.

The court also grilled the promoter of the firm Anil Sharma as to how his assets worth Rs 850 crore as per an affidavit filed with the Election Commission in 2014 had been reduced to Rs 67 crore (as per the affidavit filed with the Supreme Court). “The court wants him to file details of how the amount has reduced from Rs 850 crore to Rs 67 crore in four years,” advocate Kumar Mihir told Moneycontrol.

It sought an affidavit on the list of properties of Sharma and other directors, including their family members, within four days. Other directors have been asked to file an additional affidavit that they do not have any undisclosed assets other than those mentioned, sources said.

The court also asked Noida Authority and Greater Noida Authority to provide details of dues and charges of the additional saleable area (FAR) in Amrapali projects that are unencumbered and estimate their value to raise funds, sources said.

Homebuyers brought to the notice of the court that NBCC fees were too inflated. “NBCC's charge of 10 percent of the total cost of construction which comes to Rs 774 crore for this exercise is too inflated as this is not a profit venture. Justice Lalit asked the chairman of NBCC to be reasonable and revise the fees,” advocate Mihir said.

On September 4, the Supreme Court had assured state-run NBCC of funds to complete 46,575 flats of crisis-hit Amrapali Group at an estimated cost of Rs 8,500 crores and favoured a forensic audit of balance sheets of the private realtor to assess the extent of siphoning of funds by them.

Submitting its report with the Supreme Court, the government’s construction arm NBCC had said they were willing to work as project management consultants in Amrapali projects but would not spend a single dime from their pocket.

It had said the funds would be arranged in phases as per the directions of the Supreme Court and deposited in an escrow account.

NBCC proposed that the projects be completed in phases within a period of six to 36 months from the date on which the requisite amounts are made available to NBCC. The completed units will be handed over to the homebuyers in phases, sources said.

NBCC has also proposed setting up an SC-appointed committee comprising a member of the judiciary, a technocrat and a bureaucrat to monitor the progress of the projects, sources said.

At the August 21 hearing, the Supreme Court had directed NBCC to undertake construction of unfinished housing projects of the embattled firm and file a comprehensive report on how it proposes to construct the housing units and the timeframe within which it plans to complete them within 30 days.