Jignesh Shah, founder of the Financial Technologies Group that promoted National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), has assured the Government that outstanding amounts will be recovered and investors’ accounts settled speedily. He met Finance Ministry officials on Monday to present his case.
Shah’s statement comes even as NSEL managed to collect just Rs 4.58 crore so far compared with the scheduled Rs 174.72 crore, raising the possibility of the fifth default on Tuesday.
NSEL has to settle dues worth Rs 5,600 crore to 148 members/brokers, representing 13,000 investor clients, after it suspended trade on July 31 on the Government’s direction.
“We just came to give updates. We are committed to recovering the money. We had discussions with the investor group. We are not sitting quiet…,” Shah told newspersons after meeting Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram. He said the focus should be on 23 borrowers, because the money trail leads to them.
Mayaram said that if there was any breach of law, the guilty will be punished.
Not a beneficiary
Shah said that as a promoter, his group was not a beneficiary, as was being reported. “It is time to focus on recovering the money, rather than running down an enterprise. A lot of personal allegations have been made, but I just want to say that I have built my enterprise in 25 years. Nobody will do anything wrong to finish that brand,” he added.
On the internal investigation, Shah said the strictest possible action would be taken. “Nobody will be spared…. Right now, our sole focus is investors,” he said, adding that new directors will be inducted on the NSEL board.
The Chairman and a number of directors resigned after the crisis erupted.