The Binani Operational Creditors Forum has sought a forensic audit of the entire insolvency resolution process of Binani Cement due to an alleged lack of transparency and undue urgency shown by the Committee of Creditors to support Dalmia Bharat Cement’s offer.
The forum has filed a petition in the Supreme Court calling for a forensic audit of the process. The petition will come up for hearing on Thursday.
Sandeep Samdani, spokesperson, BOCF, said the aggressive support shown to Dalmia Bharat Cement‘s bid by some members of the creditors‘ committee was surprising and that the resolution professional had changed norms arbitrarily to favour the so-called highest bidder.
He said that the resolution professionals managing the accounts of other companies are very transparent and publish all details on the company’s website.
The claims of banks have increased by ₹700 crore in the six months since the resolution process started, while most of the claims of operational creditors were not even verified, he said. The total claim of 3,000 operational creditors stood at about ₹700 crore, of which the claim of ₹503 crore was verified, he added.
Samdani, who is also the director of Farlin Energy and Commodities FZE, which has an outstanding claim of ₹55 crore for supplying coal to Binani Cement, said his company had borrowed money from a consortium of six foreign banks to supply key raw material to Binani Cement when it was under a moratorium for nine months.
“The supply of raw material has kept the company a ‘going concern’. If not for the supply of raw material, the company would have closed down and they would not have received bids for ₹7,300 crore. It would have been close to the liquidation value of ₹2,300 crore. It is a pity that we are now left high and dry,” he said.