For many Indian tycoons, 2019 turned woeful as lenders -- empowered by the nation’s recent bankruptcy law and desperate to clean up soured debt from their books -- started seizing assets of delinquent firms or dragged them into insolvency.
Indian banks wrote off a record $39 billion of loans in the 18 months through September in a bid to repair their balance sheets as they battled the world’s worst bad debt pile. Making matters worse, a shadow banking crisis led to a funding squeeze, crushing debt-laden businesses that were critically dependent on rollover financing.
“Life has come a full circle for tycoons that had enjoyed debt-fueled growth,” said Nirmal Gangwal, founder of distress and debt restructuring advisory firm Brescon & Allied Partners LLP. “Many firms collapsed like a house of cards. The downfall was rather unprecedented.”
The government has also been cracking down on economic crime to assuage public anger over absconding businessmen. It’s even barred some from traveling overseas if they were deemed a flight risk.
Here are some of the country’s biggest and most-storied businessmen who saw their fortunes fade. Spokespersons for none of these tycoons, except Essar, immediately replied to emails and text messages seeking comments.
Anil Ambani
The chairman of Reliance Group, which makes movies to metro lines, had a close shave with jail time in March before his elder brother and Asia’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, bailed him out at the last minute. The woes of the ex-billionaire came to the fore when India’s top court asked him to pay Ericsson AB’s India unit about $77 million of past dues or go to jail since Anil Ambani, 60, had given a personal guarantee. His telecom carrier slipped into insolvency this year, while unprofitable Reliance Naval & Engineering Ltd. faced a cash crunch. Reliance Capital Ltd. is selling assets to pare debt. Ambani is also fending off Chinese lenders in a London court.
Malvinder & Shivinder Singh
Karma caught up with ex-billionaires and brothers Malvinder Singh, 47, and Shivinder Singh, 44, and how. Scions of a prominent business family, they once helmed India’s top drug maker and second-largest hospital chain. In October, the two were arrested on charges of fraudulently diverting nearly $337 million from a lender they controlled. India’s market regulator found in 2018 that the brothers had defrauded their hospital company of about $56 million. The collapse of the $2 billion empire turned brother against brother, prompting their mother to broker a peace deal that was short-lived. In February, Malvinder accused Shivinder and their spiritual guru of fraud.
Shashikant & Ravikant Ruia
After a hard-fought battle to keep their flagship steel mill, the first-generation entrepreneurs finally saw the bankrupt Essar Steel India Ltd. pass on to ArcelorMittal last month. The $5.9 billion takeover was almost two years in the making with multiple legal wrangles. The group, controlled by Shashikant Ruia, 76, and Ravikant Ruia, 70, were also reprimanded by a U.K. judge in March this year for concealing documents. Started in 1969 as a construction firm, Essar Group diversified, investing about $18 billion between 2008 and 2012, and piled on debt. In 2017, the group had sold another prized asset, Essar Oil.
Selling an asset to pare a liability shouldn’t be seen as a “lost asset,” an Essar spokesman said, adding that the group remains a diversified conglomerate.
VG Siddhartha
Before jumping off a bridge into a river in July in an apparent suicide, the founder of India’s biggest coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day had penned a letter that spoke of pressure from lenders, a private equity firm and harassment by tax officials. He had spent much of the last two years pledging ever more of Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd. shares to refinance loans for ever shorter periods, at ever higher interest rates. “I would like to say I gave it my all,” V.G. Siddhartha, 60, wrote in the letter. “I fought for a long time but today I gave up.”
Naresh Goyal
The former ticketing agent who built India’s largest airline by value, stepped down as chairman of Jet Airways India Ltd. in March, caving in to pressure from banks who took over the company. Cut-throat price wars and surging costs pushed Jet deeper into loss. The airline stopped flying in April and went into bankruptcy two months later as lenders failed to find a buyer. In July, an Indian court barred Naresh Goyal from flying overseas after the government said it was investigating an alleged $2.6 billion fraud involving Jet Airways.
Rana Kapoor
The founder of Yes Bank Ltd., which became India’s fourth-largest non-state lender, tweeted in September 2018 that his shares were invaluable and requested his children never to sell them upon inheritance. But trouble was brewing. The nation’s banking regulator, which found the lender had repeatedly under-reported its bad loans, refused to extend his tenure as chief executive officer. This forced Rana Kapoor, 62, to step down by end-January. Kapoor, who has pledged some of his Yes Bank shares in July, sold almost his entire stake in the lender by October.
Subhash Chandra
The rice trader-turned-media mogul, 69, who brought cable television into Indian homes in the early 1990s with his ZEE TV, resigned as chairman of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. in November and lost control of his crown jewel. Subhash Chandra has been selling stake in Zee Entertainment in the past few months to repay group’s debt.
Gautam Thapar
A default by Gautam Thapar, founder of the paper mill-to-power transmission Avantha Group, on pledged shares made Yes Bank Ltd. the biggest shareholder in CG Power and Industrial Solutions Ltd. In August, the firm was hit by an accounting scandal forcing the board to remove Thapar, 59, from the chairman’s post. A month later, the market regulator ordered a forensic audit of the firm and barred Thapar from accessing securities market.
The ‘case’, filed in the court of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), sought to be made out against Ram is that his conduct showed him wanting in the treatment of women.
Comments
Dear Sameer,
What can i say, if a Bat hung upside down and laughs at the topsy turvy world. The Bat is also right in its point of view.
I do not benefit from what others have to believe.
So let him follow what he feels right.
Dear Suresh, Its not matter of brilliant or stupid Mr. Kiran Kumar has logically explained the fact and reality, which being hindu I do 100% agree.
Sameer,
Regarding Kiran kumar's comments, i can only say \If we all were so brilliant like him, then today everyone of us would have been Scientist \"
one of his point I agree, real religion is Humanity, love and compassion towards fellow being and all living being on earth.
God is great.. Jai shri Ram, Jai shri krishna,"
Suresh, what you say about Mr. Kiran Kumar comment!!!
Wake up man!!!
Dear Ahmed Ali K.
Yes just by looking at the story isn't it true that at a point of time even you felt that Narada is more powerful than Lord Vishnu himself. This greatness Lord vishnu.
God will never want his devotees, his saints, to be humbled or humiliated, insulted at anytime.
Its is Lord vishnus way of telling we people what is the importance the value, dignity of a revered saint, devotee, guru in his eyes.
The story of how Lord vishnu disguises himself for his devotees
for Sena barber, Lord vishu/hari takes form of Barber and cuts hair of the Sultan.
for Bhakta Kumbhar, Lord hari comes down as a servant and does all pottery work.
for Bhaka Sakubhai, Lord vishnu comes down as daughter-in-law and does all household work and take care of her in-laws till she returns from pilgrimage from Pandarpur.
For Saint Namdev, he comes down to eat prasad at the famous Pandarpur vithala temple.
And the List is endless.
There are more knowledgeable people than me who can explain better.
Jai shri Krishna, Jai Sri Ram.
@Irfan - As of now there are many many good peoples like you living on earth. He will certainly come, when there is not a single good person like you left on earth, then god will manifest himself in some form.
Hope you got it. Jai shri Ram.
Oyee Naren you should look at this now.... This is funny really! Where are you guys why no protest now??
Ramayana, Mahabharata both were frictions/scripts like movie stories written by normal human being Valkimi & Vyasa. Unfortunate that we blindly believe/follow such frictions and ignore the real religion that is called Humanity!!
In reality there is only one super power that's called GOD, who is controlling this entire universe!!
@ Suresh,
present scenario Adharma is increasing why your God is not coming in any form, he is tired or in deep sleep.
Hey Ram, Kya kaliyug agaya !
Dear Suresh
For Clarification only
If Vishnu is a \LORD\" and how can Narada curse a lord?
In this cases Narada is powerful and he should be given higher position"
'He does not have a material form'(na tasya pratima asti).He is transcendental.However matter too comes from God. It is God's energy/potency. He being all powerful can choose to manifest Himself in a material form. That is called a deity not idol. Hence it is deity worship not idol worship. Also idol is a imaginary form, however the material image created is based on detailed description of Sri Krsna. Therefore it is not imaginary.
Islam is not revealed scripture. It provides no clear conception of God. It has created an imaginary personality called Satan and yet blame others for 'idolatry'!!
Dear SURESH,
Ekam evadvitiyam - He is ONE only without a Second.(Chandogya Upanishad 6:2:1)1
Na Casya Kasc ij Janita na Cadhipah - Of him there are neither parents nor Lord. (Svetasvatar Upanishad 6:9)2
What U are telling is stories made by some people who deviated U guys from the true one God..
How can U believe such ill made up Gods who are falling for curses & monkey... .Please use your god given intellectual. & identify what QURAN says about GOD and compare it with what U claim to be God.
Lord Vishnu's incarnation as Sri Rama, was becoz of curse of Narada.
When Narda once insisted Lord vishnu, what is \Maya\", then the next moment Narada was in Maya. He fell in love with beautiful princess whom he wished to marry. So Narada prayed to Lord vishnu that he get the face of \"HARI\" Lord vishnu's face and lord vishnu granted him the wish. But the other meaning of HARI is monkey. So narada got the face of Monkey. Thus Narada Cursed Lord Vishnu, that he may be born as Human being, undergo pain suffering of separations from wife and children. Thus lord Vishnu took 7th incarnation as Sri Rama and this was all pre destined. Infact the purpose of curse of narada was also pre destined. The whole purpose was to anihiliate the Demon King Ravana, and cleansing the earth of evils.
Nothing new. \"Whenever there is decline of dharma and increase of Adharma, then the lord manifest himself for protection of the pious, the destruction of the evil doers and establishing virtue. Thus the Lord manifest himself in every age in one form or the other.\"
Nothing new, people please stop -(being silly, talk silly and doing silly things around). Please read Ramayana, Chant Lord Rama's name and and be happy. In the end only this name will liberate your soul.
Jai Sri Ram."
Put rape and cheating case against Lord Krishna as he raped lot of Hindu girls...what a shame God
Dear Manohar,
Ur divine book also mentioned that GOD is one & Na tasya pratima asti...There is no image of God -
Then How come some people made the pious human being as GOD. as there is no image of God..
We request honestly to look & research your divine book & find the TRUTH behind worshiping the idols...
Suppose Ram found guilty, what type of punishment the Honarable Judge will deliver and how he will be punished??
For sure, He is not God
He was Born & He died same like WE people.. So he is a human just like us... People who are smart will know the reality behind such deception of making human god and collecting money... God doesnt need money... But God ask people to give money to the POOR and not himself..
Add new comment