Sahara case: US authorities probe alleged forged letter from Mirach

Amid allegations that Mirach Capital gave a forged bank letter to Sahara Group as part of financing negotiations to raise the bail amount for jailed Sahara chief Subrata Roy, federal authorities in San Francisco are probing the US-based group, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters.

Sahara had sought to borrow more than US $1 billion from Mirach to help bail Roy, who was jailed in 2014 for contempt charges after failing to comply with a court order to repay investors in a bond transaction that was ruled to be illegal.

The Sahara chief's bail amount was set at $1.6 billion, the highest ever in the country, and his company sought to raise money to pay for it. The conglomerate was willing to use hotels it owns, including New York's Plaza, as collateral.

Sahara negotiated for funds with Mirach, a group set up by former broker Saransh Sharma, who lives in Northern California. Mirach gave a letter to Sahara that purported to prove the US group had the funds in an account at Bank of America to lend to Sahara, but after a Reuters report earlier in February raised questions about the authenticity of the document, the conglomerate said it was a forgery.

Sahara said it would initiate civil and criminal legal action against Mirach in India and the United States.  

One source said the Federal Bureau of Investigation's office in San Francisco is currently investigating Sharma, and another said the probe involved the Sahara allegations of a bank letter forgery. FBI spokesman Gregory Wuthrich in San Francisco said he could not confirm or deny an investigation.

A lawyer for Sharma said that the Mirach Capital head has not been contacted by the FBI, and demanded that Reuters refrain from publishing a story. "We have no reason to believe that your source is anything more than a mere propagandist for some group that is adverse to Mr Sharma and/or Mirach," Sharma's lawyer wrote.

A Bank of America representative declined to comment on the investigation.

Roy's bail reflects the scale of the illegal bond transactions. The court has said investors need to be repaid as much as US $7 billion including accrued interest.

(Reuters)