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New Delhi, The CBI has registered a case of criminal conspiracy, cheating and corruption against the founder and co-chairman of NDTV, Prannoy Roy, his wife Radhika Roy and others for allegedly concealing a share transaction from SEBI and causing a loss of Rs 48 crore to the ICICI Bank, a move termed by the channel as a “witch-hunt”, and an attempt to undermine democracy and free speech.
The complainant, Sanjay Dutt, Director, Quantam Securities Limited, is one of the shareholders in NDTV.
CBI sources said raids were conducted in Delhi, Dehradun and Mussoorie, and RRPR Holding, the promoter of the listed broadcaster, had a 61 per cent share in the channel. A loan of Rs 500 crore was taken from India Bulls in 2008 to purchase 20 per cent additional shares from the public. The promoters then took a loan of Rs 375 crore from ICICI Bank to repay the borrowing from India Bulls at an interest rate of 19 per cent per annum.
They allegedly pledged their entire shareholding as a collateral to the ICICI Bank for the loan. This pledging of shares was allegedly not reported to SEBI, stock exchanges and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the creation of more than 61 per cent voting capital was in violation of Section 19 (2) of the Banking Regulation Act.
The NDTV promoters paid Rs 350 crore to the ICICI in one go, in lieu of which the bank allegedly slashed the interest rate to 9.5 per cent in violation of the Banking Regulation Act and RBI Circulation Act, 1988. Also, by lowering the rate, the bank benefitted a third party, another violation.
Sources said the CBI had found that the accused “owned” two shell companies, Vishwanath Commercial Private Limited and Shenano Private Limited.
Meanwhile, NDTV said the TV channel and its promoters would fight tirelessly against this “witch-hunt” by multiple agencies. “We will not succumb to these attempts to blatantly undermine democracy and free speech in India. We have one message to those who are trying to destroy the institutions of India and everything it stands for: we will fight for our country and overcome these forces,” it said. Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu claimed there was no political interference.
NDTV statement on CBI raids
It is shocking that the CBI conducted searches on the NDTV offices and residence of the promoters without even conducting a preliminary enquiry. This is a blatant political attack on the freedom of the press as sources confirm that under pressure, the CBI has been compelled to file an FIR based on a shoddy complaint by a disgruntled former consultant at NDTV called Sanjay Dutt, who has been making false allegations and filing cases in courts of law with these false allegations. So far, he has not obtained a single order from any of these courts.
Legal analysts are astounded that where courts have rejected giving any order in all these years, the CBI conducts raids based on what is a private complaint.
The allegation appears to be for a loan which has been repaid by Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy more than seven years ago. (Scroll down for evidence of this.)
Even though lakhs and crores of rupees of dues have not been paid by several industrialists and no criminal case has yet been registered against any of them by the CBI, the CBI has chosen not only to register an FIR, but also conduct a search for a loan which has been duly repaid to ICICI Bank. Moreover, ICICI is a private bank.
The allegation that no disclosure was made to SEBI and other regulatory authorities is not only incorrect and false but also does not cloth the CBI with any power to register cases and search which further amplifies the fact that the search by the CBI is only a witch-hunt against independent media.
NDTV and its promoters have never defaulted on any loan to ICICI or any other bank. We adhere to the highest levels of integrity and independence. It is clearly the independence and fearlessness of NDTV’s team that the ruling party’s politicians cannot stomach and the CBI raid is merely another attempt at silencing the media.
No matter how much the politicians attack us – We will not give up the fight for freedom and the independence of media in India.
