The Supreme Court on Thursday said the JP Morgan India funds that the Enforcement Directorate had attached be transferred to an escrow account, setting the stage for the utilisation of the money to complete the stuck housing projects of the Amrapali group.
The ED had attached Rs 187 crore of JP Morgan money lying in bank accounts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The central agency is probing suspected money laundering over alleged transactions between the financial services company and the property developer.
JP Morgan, which denies any wrongdoing, had initially protested against the ED’s decision to seize the funds, but later allowed the money to be attached till a competent court — a PMLA court — adjudicated on its fate. A court-ordered forensic audit had alleged several irregularities in the financial dealings of Amrapali. Some of these pointed to the involvement of JP Morgan India, the auditors had claimed.
On Thursday, a bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra and UU Lalit cleared the stage for utilising the money on Amrapali’s projects. Further details are awaited, as the order copy wasn’t uploaded on the court website till press time Thursday. The bench has been struggling to get finance to wrap up the projects. While state-owned NBCC has taken over some of the projects, funds are still a problem.
The court has appointed a receiver to sell off some of the inventories in some of the projects. It has also asked SBICap to finalise an action plan to finance the projects. The consultant will have to do it in four weeks, the bench said. The court also stepped up its efforts to recover money from other parties accused of wrongdoing by the auditors. These include the Surekha group.
The top court asked them to pay their dues as assessed by the auditors or face the consequences. Banks will also consider the subvention scheme for buyers in their restructuring plans, the court said. Further hearing will take place on July 10.
Source: Economic Times