The prepayment to the bonds of Franklin schemes under winding up have been declined. Does this mean that Franklin will not repay its investors?
- Arun
No, it does mean that. Things have been prematurely suspended, as Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund has fallen into litigation. Many people in different high courts filed cases against Franklin Templeton. The first decision came from Gujarat High Court and they put a ban on the e-voting process through which, Franklin was seeking permission of investors to return the money from the six of their shutdown schemes, as and when they recover the money as well as on the method of recovery.
A few weeks back, the Supreme Court gave a judgement to consolidate all the cases in Karnataka High Court where the decision will be taken. Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund house has gone on record to say that they will try to vacate Gujarat's High Court order to initiate the repayment of the money. So, now the roadmap is that Franklin Templeton will file for vacation of the ban on e-voting process in Karnataka High Court.
A few of Franklin funds under the winding-up process have started receiving money but right now, it's stuck due to different court orders. Let us see how things turn out after the hearing. I am hopeful that something positive will come out of it. Further, Franklin Templeton has already appointed an advisor to help in the fast recovery of the money. Also, the markets have normalised quite a bit. So, I am hopeful that the money can come much faster once Franklin Templeton is through the legal process.
