Ousted IL&FS MD Hari Sankaran arrested for abuse of power by Serious Frauds Office:...

Ousted IL&FS MD Hari Sankaran arrested for abuse of power by Serious Frauds Office: Sources

Hari Sankaran has been accused of fraudulent conduct and granting loans to entities which were not creditworthy or have been declared Non Performing Assets.

india Updated: Apr 01, 2019 22:17 IST
Hari Sankaran, former managing firector, IL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd.) in Mumbai on March 25, 2015.(REUTERS)

Hari Sankaran, the ousted managing director of the finance firm Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, or IL&FS, has been arrested by the Serious Frauds Investigation Office, or SFIO, a government official said on Monday. The probe agency has been given his custody till Thursday.

Sankaran has been arrested on the grounds of abusing his powers in IL&FS Financial Services Ltd, the official said. He has been accused of fraudulent conduct and granting loans to entities which were not creditworthy or have been declared Non Performing Assets.

His actions, according to the Serious Frauds Office, caused wrongful loss to the company that has raised billions of dollars in the corporate bond market and powered the nation’s public project building boom.

IL&FS Financial Services Ltd had borrowings of more than 17,000 crore from debt instruments and bank loans. Provident Funds, Pension Funds, Gratuity Funds, Mutual Funds, Public and Private Sector Banks, are among those who have invested in these debt instruments.

First Published: Apr 01, 2019 22:15 IST