Alchemist ARC may move higher courts challenging former SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri’s arrest

Former SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri [Image: Wikimedia Commons]

Alchemist Asset Reconstruction Company (ARC) promoter Alok Dhir is planning to move higher courts in the loan scam case in which the company’s director and former State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Pratip Chaudhuri along with executives Alok Dhir and Sasi Methadil was arrested by Rajasthan Police on November 1, reported Times Now.

Alchemist ARC had earlier said it will move the Jaisalmer District Court against the bail rejection of Pratip Chaudhuri, who has been accused of being involved in the alleged sale of a hotel belonging to the Godawan Group in Jaisalmer -- which is a non-performing asset (NPA) -- to Alchemist ARC at a low rate.

The former SBI chairman was arrested on the basis of a petition filed by former directors of the hotel property.

Also read: Former SBI chairman Pratip Chaudhuri hospitalised with restlessness, hypertension

Chaudhuri had allegedly assigned the Rs 200 crore property for a throw-away amount of Rs 25 crore to Alchemist ARC after the SBI had seized the hotel following a default on loan.

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

Dhir said: “We have been advised to go straight to the Supreme Court. So, various legal remedies are available to us, we are working on it.”

He claimed that SBI followed due process as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI) guidelines during the sale of the loan account to Alchemist ARC. Dhir then went on to junk claims about SBI selling the property for Rs 25 crore and said: “In NCLT proceedings two independent valuers have assessed value of assets at about Rs 40 crore.”

Also read: Arrest of Pratip Chaudhari is extremely unfortunate: SBI Chairman Khara

Meanwhile, SBI has clarified 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,” SBI had said.

SBI had further said 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.