Private sector lender YES Bank has taken possession of Reliance Centre, the headquarters of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) in Mumbai, for non-payment of dues. The office building is spread over a 21,432.28 square metre plot in Santacruz.

The bank has also taken over another property of the group situated at Veer Nariman Road in Mumbai. The possession of the properties took place on July 22 under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, and comes for non-payment of loans amounting to ₹2,892 crore, YES Bank said in a newspaper notice on Wednesday.

YES Bank said it had issued a demand notice on May 6 to Reliance Infrastructure Ltd under the SARFAESI Act to repay the dues within 60 days, which the latter failed to repay. ADAG is estimated to have an exposure of about ₹12,000 crore to YES Bank.

ADAG had acquired the property in Santacruz as part of the deal to buy Mumbai power distribution business from state utility Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES) in 2003. The power business was sold to Adani Group last year, but the building was retained by the Ambani Group. Then it tried to lease out parts of the building to raise funds, but that did not go through.

The private sector lender has been working to speed up recoveries of bad loans through various measures, including invocation of pledged shares. It reported recoveries of ₹160 crore in the first quarter of the fiscal.

Meanwhile, Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani, who met ED officials in March in relation to the money laundering probe against the bank’s former MD Rana Kapoor, had clarified that the group’s entire exposure to YES Bank is fully secured and transacted in the ordinary course of business.

Scrip down

On Wednesday, YES Bank scrip fell 1.26 per cent and closed at ₹11.75 a piece on the BSE, which is lower than the FPO price of ₹12 per equity share.

 

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW