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The NSEL Investors’ Forum and brokers have come down heavily on the so-called settlement offer of ₹1,000 crore made by embattled Financial Technologies India (FTIL) to investors who have lost ₹5,600 crore in the exchange.
According to media reports Cyril Shroff, a lawyer acting on behalf of FTIL promoter Jignesh Shah, met Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance with a settlement package.
Under the deal, FTIL and brokers would contribute ₹500 crore each to fully pay off investors who lost ₹2 lakh-₹10 lakh on the bourse and return half the amount to those who invested between ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore. Ruling out the possibility of brokers chipping in, Alok Churiwala, Vice Chairman and spokesperson, BSE Brokers Forum, said it was a unilateral decision taken by the company and brokers were neither consulted nor informed of the package.
Brokers’ stand “Where is the question of brokers chipping in for the settlement? The whole scam broke out because the commodities which were sold on the exchange went missing from the warehouse. It is the responsibility of the exchange to ensure the goods are intact,” he said.
Terming the offer as absurd, Sharad Kumar Saraf, Chairman, NSEL Investor Forum said the deal is an attempt to misguide investors and divide them so that their case is weakened.
“The unilateral settlement offer is coming when the Government is tightening the screws on the company by planning to replace the entire board,” he added.
‘Hurrying deal’ Interestingly, he said, Shah tried to make ₹1,100-crore offer in 2014 after consulting the NSEL Investor Forum and brokers, but questioned why the company is now in a hurry to make this deal.
FTIL is trying to deflect the attention of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs which has proposed to supersede the company’s board, said Saraf.
He termed the demand of FTIL to withdraw criminal and civil proceedings against it, NSEL and directors of the two companies, among others in the Mumbai Sessions Court and Bombay High Court as laughable.
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