Enforcement Directorate Reports on Sandesara Brothers’ Financial Situation
NEW DELHI: Recent findings by the Enforcement Directorate suggest that if the Sandesara brothers, Nitin and Chetan, fulfill their pledge to repay banks a sum of ₹5,100 crore, they would ultimately pay more than their actual debt to these institutions.
In 2018, the government recovered ₹4.7 billion from their company, Sterling Biotech Ltd (SBL). Since then, the agency has undertaken a money laundering investigation against the brothers, seizing assets valued over ₹14,500 crore globally, which includes Nigerian oil rigs, ships, and aircraft. Officials indicated that this latest development could raise the total recovery amount to over ₹9.8 billion, surpassing the ₹6,700 crore originally proposed by banks as a settlement offer.
Just a day after the Supreme Court noted the brothers’ commitment to pay ₹5.1 billion if allowed to return to India to manage their businesses and have their criminal charges lifted, celebrations occurred at the ED headquarters, marking it as the agency’s largest recovery since the Prevention of Money Laundering Act was put into effect.
The total sum expected from this case has now reached ₹10 billion. This offer may provide relief to several notable individuals connected to SBL, whose assets had been classified as “proceeds of crime” and previously seized. Disclosed assets potentially include those of actors Sanjay Khan (worth ₹3,000 crore), Dino Morea (₹1,400 crore), and DJ Aqeel (₹2,000 crore), alongside properties of the late Ahmed Patel (₹2,500 crore) and his son-in-law Irfan Siddiqui (₹2,400 crore), as well as luxury cars owned by the Sandesara brothers and their associates.
The process to bring the brothers to negotiations is likely aided by their designation as fugitive economic offenders in September 2020. An official mentioned that this classification has fortified the ED’s position, granting them the ability to seek forfeiture of properties, regardless of whether they are tied to criminal gains or considered clean assets, primarily since SBL’s promoters evaded Indian judicial jurisdiction.
“What might seem like a concession is actually a culmination of extensive enforcement efforts, asset tracing, and legal actions that ultimately encouraged the fugitives to engage in negotiations,” the official elaborated.
To date, the Sandesara brothers and SBL have paid ₹3,508 crore during various legal proceedings in different courts. Additionally, about ₹1,192 billion has been recovered through insolvency procedures against associated companies. This means the total amount recovered stands at a substantial figure. When you combine the earlier recovery of ₹4.7 billion with the ₹5.1 billion mandated by the Supreme Court, it totals approximately ₹9.8 billion—almost double the amount indicated in the initial FIR.
In 2017, a CBI FIR claimed that the group had misappropriated ₹5,383 crore. Subsequently, banks had offered a lump sum settlement for the total dues of ₹6,761 crore. The anticipated recovery figure of nearly ₹10,000 crore definitely exceeds prior expectations.
