The intriguing case of Subrata Roy

Therefore if the government, particularly the BJP, is serious about its intention of bringing defaulters to book it would have to pull its socks up rather than look the other way like its predecessors have done

It was an intrigued Bench of the Supreme Court of India that wondered why a man would opt for jail when he had the paying capacity to settle his dues?
The issue that came up was an extension of a  bail petition of a business magnate Subrata Roy of the Sahara Group.
Roy has been in Tihar jail since March 4, 2014 on the orders of the apex court in relation to a long running dispute with market regulator SEBI.
Roy is founder and Chairman of Sahara India, a company with diverse business interests including media, real estate, entertainment, tourism, healthcare and hospitality.
Known as Saharashri, Roy  started off as a chit fund operator in 1978.  Within two decades, he was the man to watch. He launched the Sahara City project covering almost 170 acres; he owned a newspaper and a television channel; initiated the Amby Valley project near Pune; purchased the  iconic Grosvenor House Hotel in London and the historic Plaza Hotel in New York City. Claiming to have a work force of over a million people, Roy was named by an International Magazine as the second largest employer after the Indian Railways. Therefore the apex court was right in asking:
“Why would” the judges wanted to know  “a man like Sahara group chief Subrata Roy suffer two years of incarceration in Tihar if his dues did not add up to even a fraction of his personal wealth? Why would such a wealthy person not just settle his dues?” the Court asked while it scanned details of Roy's wealth as they heard his plea  for an extension of his interim bail to six months after the business magnate was released on custodial parole on May 11 to be with his family following his mother’s death. oy's counsel  showed a list of personal wealth and assets to assure the court that Roy would not run away from the court-fastened Rs 36,000 crore financial liability, of which he has already deposited Rs 12,000-odd crore with market regulator Sebi: “If Roy is released for six more months he will pay every penny that is due from him. Market regulator Sebi can independently sell the assets," he said.
An intrigued bench said, "Your wealth and assets are huge and valued at a price that is far bigger than the liabilities. A person with this kind of wealth, why did he suffer two years of incarceration and not pay up the dues. Why is he reluctant to pay?"
 Roy has been in judicial custody since March 2014.
The Supreme Court of India had ordered his arrest after he had failed to  appear before it in connection with the Rs. 24,000 crore deposits his company had not refunded to investors. He was later arrested in a dispute with the market regulator.
 He was granted interim bail by Supreme Court of India  on 26 March 2014 on condition of depositing Rs 10,000 crore with the market regulator SEBI.  His deposit of 10,000 crore was not made. As of August 2014, Roy was trying to sell some of his hotel properties to raise enough money. However, the Court granted him bail after his mother died. Later his parole was extended till July 11, to enable him to deposit Rs 200 crore with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India or SEBI.
 The Court also held that  SEBI would meanwhile continue with the auction of properties of Sahara. It said that Roy could  also go ahead with the sale  of their other properties to raise the amount of Rs 5000 crore as a bank guarantee has to be  deposited in addition to Rs 5000 crore to get bail.
 It was during this hearing that the Court noted that the value of Roy’s  properties was far more than his  liability: “Why person with this kind of fortune shall be hesitant to make payment…why such a rich person didn’t pay a fraction of wealth and stayed in jail for two years.” the bench asked.
 While Roy is grappling with the law, there is another billionaire who has fled. Literally. Billionaire Vijay Mallya, nicknamed the King of Good Times.
 Unlike Roy he was till recently a Member of Parliament. The Ethics Committee sought his dismissal but the Chairman of the Upper House that Mallya was a Member of, accepted his resignation.
 Dubbed an absconder, Mallya, who is reportedly in the UK, owes  creditors  huge sums of money.
Demanding his return to India are at least five law enforcement and judicial bodies in India—the Supreme Court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the service tax department, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the income-tax department.Mallya, presided over a liquor empire until a few years ago and was ranked the 45th richest Indian by Forbes in March 2012.
 Mallya left India on 2 March as creditors closed in.
The income-tax department, for instance, had moved the court some three years ago seeking dues amounting to Rs.325 crore owed by Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines.
A consortium of 17 banks seeking to recover dues of Rs.9,091 crore.
His offer to repay Rs.4,000 crore to settle the debts of his defunct airline was rejected by the creditors.
With Mallya in the UK, the Indian government moved for his deportation. But all its options seemed exhausted  with the United Kingdom making it clear that the liquor baron cannot be deported. It has asked India to seek his extradition instead.
 The UK government’s response came nearly a fortnight after India made a request for the deportation of Mallya, whose Indian passport was revoked in a bid to secure his presence for investigation against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002. There is also a non-bailable warrant issued against Mallya.
 The shocker is not about Mallya absconding but about his doing it after announcing his intention to go abroad, days before he had actually left. The Indian government and its law enforcing agencies could have moved in swiftly to prevent his leaving the country but they sat back while he flew off, right under everyone’s nose.
 Mallya was crying foul at being painted “absconder” but the truth of the matter is that he like several other businessmen have made money without a worry about mounting debts. They have, to say the least, milked the system to their advantage. This is primarily because they know that the system is tolerant and would, wittingly and unwittingly, give several options for them to escape when the going gets tough. That is exactly what Mallya has done. He has simply left the law enforcing agencies licking  their wounds. Now they are running for cover. It is quite another matter that he, as an MP, came across worse than an ordinary criminal:  defrauding people and wilfully defaulting on  payments.
 It is at this point that one needs to stop and ask: Isn’t it time for the government to wake and sit up and act against billionaire criminals and tighten the noose rather than letting them take advantage of loopholes in the system and refuse to pay up? There is little explanation or excuse of why the Government did not move in on time to prevent absconders like Mallya to leave the country, particularly after he announced his intention to go to the UK?
Therefore if the government, particularly the BJP, is serious about its intention of bringing defaulters to book it would have to pull its socks up rather than look the other way like its predecessors have done. Once the message goes that it means business then Mallya and company would run for cover rather than run away.

The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])

The intriguing case of Subrata Roy

Therefore if the government, particularly the BJP, is serious about its intention of bringing defaulters to book it would have to pull its socks up rather than look the other way like its predecessors have done

It was an intrigued Bench of the Supreme Court of India that wondered why a man would opt for jail when he had the paying capacity to settle his dues? The issue that came up was an extension of a bail petition of a business magnate Subrata Roy of the Sahara Group. Roy has been in Tihar jail since March 4, 2014 on the orders of the apex court in relation to a long running dispute with market regulator SEBI. Roy is founder and Chairman of Sahara India, a company with diverse business interests including media, real estate, entertainment, tourism, healthcare and hospitality. Known as Saharashri, Roy started off as a chit fund operator in 1978. Within two decades, he was the man to watch. He launched the Sahara City project covering almost 170 acres; he owned a newspaper and a television channel; initiated the Amby Valley project near Pune; purchased the iconic Grosvenor House Hotel in London and the historic Plaza Hotel in New York City. Claiming to have a work force of over a million people, Roy was named by an International Magazine as the second largest employer after the Indian Railways. Therefore the apex court was right in asking: Why would the judges wanted to know a man like Sahara group chief Subrata Roy suffer two years of incarceration in Tihar if his dues did not add up to even a fraction of his personal wealth? Why would such a wealthy person not just settle his dues? the Court asked while it scanned details of Roys wealth as they heard his plea for an extension of his interim bail to six months after the business magnate was released on custodial parole on May 11 to be with his family following his mothers death. oys counsel showed a list of personal wealth and assets to assure the court that Roy would not run away from the court-fastened Rs 36,000 crore financial liability, of which he has already deposited Rs 12,000-odd crore with market regulator Sebi: If Roy is released for six more months he will pay every penny that is due from him. Market regulator Sebi can independently sell the assets, he said. An intrigued bench said, Your wealth and assets are huge and valued at a price that is far bigger than the liabilities. A person with this kind of wealth, why did he suffer two years of incarceration and not pay up the dues. Why is he reluctant to pay? Roy has been in judicial custody since March 2014. The Supreme Court of India had ordered his arrest after he had failed to appear before it in connection with the Rs. 24,000 crore deposits his company had not refunded to investors. He was later arrested in a dispute with the market regulator. He was granted interim bail by Supreme Court of India on 26 March 2014 on condition of depositing Rs 10,000 crore with the market regulator SEBI. His deposit of 10,000 crore was not made. As of August 2014, Roy was trying to sell some of his hotel properties to raise enough money. However, the Court granted him bail after his mother died. Later his parole was extended till July 11, to enable him to deposit Rs 200 crore with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India or SEBI. The Court also held that SEBI would meanwhile continue with the auction of properties of Sahara. It said that Roy could also go ahead with the sale of their other properties to raise the amount of Rs 5000 crore as a bank guarantee has to be deposited in addition to Rs 5000 crore to get bail. It was during this hearing that the Court noted that the value of Roys properties was far more than his liability: Why person with this kind of fortune shall be hesitant to make paymentwhy such a rich person didnt pay a fraction of wealth and stayed in jail for two years. the bench asked. While Roy is grappling with the law, there is another billionaire who has fled. Literally. Billionaire Vijay Mallya, nicknamed the King of Good Times. Unlike Roy he was till recently a Member of Parliament. The Ethics Committee sought his dismissal but the Chairman of the Upper House that Mallya was a Member of, accepted his resignation. Dubbed an absconder, Mallya, who is reportedly in the UK, owes creditors huge sums of money. Demanding his return to India are at least five law enforcement and judicial bodies in Indiathe Supreme Court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the service tax department, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and the income-tax department.Mallya, presided over a liquor empire until a few years ago and was ranked the 45th richest Indian by Forbes in March 2012. Mallya left India on 2 March as creditors closed in. The income-tax department, for instance, had moved the court some three years ago seeking dues amounting to Rs.325 crore owed by Mallyas Kingfisher Airlines. A consortium of 17 banks seeking to recover dues of Rs.9,091 crore. His offer to repay Rs.4,000 crore to settle the debts of his defunct airline was rejected by the creditors. With Mallya in the UK, the Indian government moved for his deportation. But all its options seemed exhausted with the United Kingdom making it clear that the liquor baron cannot be deported. It has asked India to seek his extradition instead. The UK governments response came nearly a fortnight after India made a request for the deportation of Mallya, whose Indian passport was revoked in a bid to secure his presence for investigation against him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002. There is also a non-bailable warrant issued against Mallya. The shocker is not about Mallya absconding but about his doing it after announcing his intention to go abroad, days before he had actually left. The Indian government and its law enforcing agencies could have moved in swiftly to prevent his leaving the country but they sat back while he flew off, right under everyones nose. Mallya was crying foul at being painted absconder but the truth of the matter is that he like several other businessmen have made money without a worry about mounting debts. They have, to say the least, milked the system to their advantage. This is primarily because they know that the system is tolerant and would, wittingly and unwittingly, give several options for them to escape when the going gets tough. That is exactly what Mallya has done. He has simply left the law enforcing agencies licking their wounds. Now they are running for cover. It is quite another matter that he, as an MP, came across worse than an ordinary criminal: defrauding people and wilfully defaulting on payments. It is at this point that one needs to stop and ask: Isnt it time for the government to wake and sit up and act against billionaire criminals and tighten the noose rather than letting them take advantage of loopholes in the system and refuse to pay up? There is little explanation or excuse of why the Government did not move in on time to prevent absconders like Mallya to leave the country, particularly after he announced his intention to go to the UK? Therefore if the government, particularly the BJP, is serious about its intention of bringing defaulters to book it would have to pull its socks up rather than look the other way like its predecessors have done. Once the message goes that it means business then Mallya and company would run for cover rather than run away. The writer is a senior Indian journalist, political commentator and columnist of The Independent. She can be reached at: ([email protected])