The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has asked the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Mumbai Police to release attached properties of the troubled Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative (PMC) Bank so that they can be auctioned. The proceeds of the auction will be used to provide relief to the aggrieved account holders.
The EOW will seek the court's approval to release the assets to the RBI administrator. As mentioned in a report in the Economic Times, EOW chief Rajvardhan Sinha confirmed that they have received a communique from RBI to de-attach the properties in the PMC Bank case as they have given an in-principle no-objection certificate.
The Wadhawans have also given their consent to auction. The attached properties are estimated to be worth Rs 3,500 crore.
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The planned auction will be carried out under the provisions of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002, that allows banks and other financial institutions to sell properties of defaulters to pare debt.
The Wadhawans have also given their consent to selling 18 of their attached assets that includes two private jets, a range of high-end cars and a speed boat. The auction, in this case, will not face a court battle unlike in the cases of Modi and Mallya, as the Wadhawans have already given their nod.
PMC Bank had created more than 21,000 fictitious accounts to cover up Rs 4,300 crore of loans to the almost-bankrupt HDIL. HDIL promoters, Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, PMC Bank Managing Director Joy Thomas, Chairman Waryam Singh and Director SS Arora have been arrested by the EOW.
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