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.
Comments
Lets put it in a nut shell Khader is the only problem rest everything no problem if Khader is inspired by some false clergy let him keep it personal and not inflict on people. ullal is a place they don't want any organizations interfering they want be on their own, Khader has lost the battle last time in the juma case. he has a good platform to strengthen the party because on one side Rasheed is a congressman and in the other side mustafa is a congressman instead of taking advantage he is supporting a false clergy and causing all the nuisance in ullal .
when members of SSF wants a roudyshitter .Bhuhari wants to be a president of ullal dargha .. imagine of thier thinking is to Grasp power at any cost, Not worried which background he is from.. obviously people of ullal has to against it.. I think UT khader also should have done basic research before he could interfere & favor one side.. criminal entering politices is a common that everyone accepts without any choice.... but in Mosque Committe person with criminal background will never accept at any cost which lead to the situation getting worse.... shame at religious leader & Polictian who support such president.. SHAME on THEM...
Shaffiq,
In 1992, Did Allah have no power to protect Babri Masjid ???
Why did you not question the power of Allah then???
What happened to ullala Wali , he has got numerous karamath .why now he can't solve this problem. It's very easy . Ask Wali and he will say who will be the next president
koora and SSF's Dirty Game
Oh, wahabbis, don't act like the reformers of the society. Ask your gurus in Kerala to stop fighting in the name of Jinn Tawheed. Did you forget your own people fought in the dais (stage) for Jinn Tawheed? Don't you feel ashamed of talking about Sunni groups when you people were divided into more than 8 groups in the name of tawheed, whereas both sunni groups have same belief in Tawheed.
Seeking the help of Jinn is tawheed, whereas seeking the help of Auliyas is shirk. Oh wahabbis where are you people leading to ?
Babri masjid was demolished in 1992. Does it mean that no power for Allah ? So, commentators and Article Headline by ..., never to try to boil your seed by degrading the power of miracle of Auliyas.
Insha Allah, Truth will prevail soon and SK goondas will be going to suffer soon for their heinous act.
I think better to leave this Issue to the Saint to decide thru Karamath. I hope AP & EK both will agree for this to maintain peace in the society.
Only one reason for The fight Is karodepati ones if anyone get president seat in dargah he will be the richest person in ullal full bakwas jiyo aur jeenedo yaaro
There is no difference between dargah and temple. Both make pooja by offering flower etc. Both make jathre(Uroos). Both make nerche (Harake). In islam no where taught like this. They make all this only for money.
SAUDIS say worship the one LORD ALLAH, who created U, Me and all that exists & follow prophet Muhammad pbuh.
IRAN says worship ALLAH, Follow prophet muhammad, Ask with ALI & they also ask with the imaams in the Graves and they have lot of SHRINE worship expecting BARAKAH from the auliyas. which they never said to do such worship for barakah.
NOW TELL ME which ways YOU guys are following... IRAN or SAUDI?
When our IMAAN in ALLAH becomes WEAK, not maintaining SABR & we tend to go & ask with the Creations of ALLAH... which is very dangerous to our FAITH. And our enemies deceive us very EASILY.
I request people to DEPEND on ALLAH alone. Every example on our life have to be cleared by Prophet Muhammad pbuh. he also said even if it is small issues, ASK with ALLAH alone.... ALLAH gives barakah when you really rely on HIM. He knows what is in your hearts .. without patience, some guys are going and following the shia style of worship
We should EXPECT such inner clash when leaders of our community Never encourage to ASK with ALLAH ALONE and are SILENCE and never try to UNITE our UMMAH ... instead dividing each other in the name of GROUP ideology.
DEAR MUSLIMS - READ QURAN with understanding, ALLAH guides those who look for his QURAN, understand it, ponder it... The more U ponder, the more U will depend on ALLAH. NO need for any intermediate. U will praise the auliyas of ALLAH & follow the ways they taught us and will never ask with them but U will only depend on ALLAH for your requirement & Barakah.
May ALLAH guide us all ..
Kotian,
How your religion is to be peaceful when you teach your crew to kill innocent no Hindus?
I also agree that most of the Indian Hindus likes peace but not your organisation.
whats going on, fighting with own people this must be stopped immediately, it makes our rival to go out strong.
this dargha authority should be hand over to the karnataka govt, i request CM Siddaramaih to undertake this dargha's authority,
UT Khader must take all the decision. why this people simply fighting for power, whoever capable of using the power he will get,
Brother Anti-Wahabi
A humble request please read the article again. Nowhere its mentioned \AND NOT FOR REAL MIRACLE\" Well learn to accept the TRUTH.
My personal suggestion this time hand over the Management to SALAFI'S and see the changes.."
Yellare Mane dose thoothe, nangle ningle yella ondume
this is not new.. clash was going on before also but easily they will not leak their secrete outside as we do. true face of religious places in all religion its same. dont die live longer.
why simply clashing for power, this people wont take anything while dying, till death do some good work instead of clashing with each other
Miracle is there in the Quran not in any idol or dargah... Better if people understand it for their success in this duniya and hereafter..
Here I saw many non muslim brothers confused with Sunni, AK, EK and so on.. Worshiping dargah is not at all Islamic.. Worship only ONE God. thats real Islam.. Regulate 5 times salah, Give zakaath/ sadqa, help each other to live peacefully and let other creations of Allah live peacefully.. Make this life worth living.. Thats what Islam teaches and Quran teaches and history teaches us..
There are some exceptions - some ignorant people dont want to understand this and always blaming Islam is their habbit whenever commenting.. Thats without proper knowledge of Islam. May Allah give hidaya to all of us..Ameen
This article is written by a pakka wahhabi girl with the only intention of creating Fitna. In the first para itself the writer is saying that the Darga was famous for \stories of miracles\" and not for real miracles. Strange that coastaldigest.com publishing these kinds of extremist Wahhabist articles these days without examining it. I am a big fan of CD since its launch. hope it will realise its mistakes and avoid unnecessary crtisicm of the groups of aalims."
Viren Anna irr dane Mulu...Chaddi budyaara.
Shiya Sunni clash reached Mangalore too? this is really shocking. now bomb blasts also may start in karnataka like arab nations.
What is Sunni group?
What is AP?
What is EK?
Can someone please explain us. story is anyhow interesting.
The history of Muslims is full of violence. This is the good opportunity for Muslims to renounce their violent faith and embrace Hinduism the true religion of peace, and leader a dignified life instead of fighting in the name of AP, EK, PK, TK
Very sad. Ignorance at its peak.
Fooling ignorant people by any so called masjid management or by any greedy imaams is not at all appreciable. Either imaams of the Masjid or the management committee of the masjid should ENLIGHTEN the people on the basis of teachings of HOLY QURA'N and SUNNAH.
Why not leave shirk as Allah has ordered in his book.
Masjid is house of Allah which are to be 24x7 active with prayers, education and community development activities. No need of Dargas which is supporting shirk. Oneness of Allah, Tawheed is our requirement.
Community should not waste time and energy in fighting for unnecessary reasons.
We heard of Battle of Badr,Battle of Uhud,Battle of Khandaq all for the sake of LA ILAHA ILLALLAH. But Yesterday Battle of Ullal is some thing unique Battle of Power.Great...its one of the sign of KIYAAMATH.
Beware The final Day is very close. Get ready and be prepared for Life after Death.
It is not EK vs AP as mentioned but it is AP group vs rest.
In Ullal there are total 49 committee member elected of which 27 supports Rashid Haji means Rashid Haji has clear majority for Presidency.
And about President selected by Kazi Khoora Thangal and SSF is Bukhari who dont have the majority but also people know what his background is.
SSF people lost the election instead of handing over the power they forwarding a rowdy sheeter as president to create terror in Ullal for that one of Minister from region supporting SSF by sending Waqf officer to lock the Darga.
Instead of doing all this let all member sit together elect the President who has the majority
Now or before thier is no miracles Ullal foolising people by deviled power and political. Power it's shows now.may allha gave Hidayath
Ameen
Nor was any miracles before or now everything was from allah but shaitan decieved them by making them believe it was from the dead saint syed madani.
Poor thinking n following the footsteps of shaitan always ends in greediness which leads to destruction.
never there was miracles. only blind faith. Ya Allah give them Hidayat
hahaha.. this is hilarious headline. article is balances. very much timely. appreciate this impartial analysis by CD. keep it up. dont care anyone.
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