I don’t grow money on trees: HDK on delay in allocation of funds

Bengaluru, Mar 9: Karnataka government has ordered holidays for children in lower and upper kindergarten classes in Bengaluru, in the wake of coronavirus outbreak and with positive cases being reported from states in its neighbourhood.

"Further to the advice received from the Health Commissioner, holidays have been declared for Lower and Upper Kindergarten classes in Bengaluru North, South and Rural districts due to coronavirus, " Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S Suresh Kumar said on Sunday.

According to official estimates, no positive cases of coronavirus have been reported from Karnataka till now.

The state has strengthened all surveillance and containment measures against the possible spread of disease.

Till Sunday, 890 persons have been identified for observation including persons who have travelled to COVID-19 affected countries and contacts of COVID-19 positive cases.

Six persons have been admitted to selected isolation hospitals.

According to official estimates, till date 87,066 passengers have been screened at airports in Karnataka.

The number of COVID-19 cases in India climbed to 39 on Sunday with five people in Kerala testing positive for coronavirus. The deadly virus has caused the deaths of over 3300 people globally.

Mumbai, Feb 8: Anil Ambani, the brother of Asia’s richest man has pleaded poverty in his dispute with three Chinese banks seeking $680 million in defaulted loans.

“The value of my investments has collapsed,” Anil Ambani said, according to a court filing by the banks in a London lawsuit.

“The current value of my shareholdings is down to approximately $82.4m and my net worth is zero after taking into account my liabilities. In summary, I do not hold any meaningful assets which can be liquidated for the purposes of these proceedings.”

The lawsuit was filed by three state-controlled Chinese banks which argue that they provided a loan of $925 million to Ambani’s Reliance Communications Ltd. in 2012 with the condition that he personally guarantee the debt. The comments were disclosed on Friday as Ambani sought to avoid depositing hundreds of millions of dollars with the court ahead of a trial.

The embattled Indian tycoon says that while he agreed to give a non-binding “personal comfort letter,” he never gave a guarantee tied to his personal assets -- an “extraordinary potential personal liability.”

The 60-year-old is the brother of Mukesh Ambani, who’s worth $56.5 billion and is the wealthiest man in Asia. Anil, on the other hand, has seen his personal fortune dwindle over recent years, losing his billionaire status. His Reliance Communications filed for bankruptcy last year.

The banks asked Judge David Waksman to force Ambani to put up $656 million into the court’s account.

Representatives for Ambani’s Reliance Group said they couldn’t immediately comment. They said the group will issue a statement once the court issues the final order.

Ambani’s lawyer, Robert Howe, said the court shouldn’t order his client to make a payment he can’t make. The tycoon argues that an order requiring him to do so would hinder his ability to defend himself in the case, Howe said.

“There’s no evidence of some giant pot of gold that he can pull $1 million, let alone $10 million, let alone $100 million,” Howe said.

Bankim Thanki, an attorney representing Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China, said in a filing that Ambani’s statements are “plainly a yet further opportunistic attempt to evade his financial obligations to the lenders.”

Ambani was caught up in another legal wrangle last year when India’s Supreme Court threatened him with prison after Reliance Communications failed to pay Rs 5.5 billion ($77 million) to Ericsson AB’s Indian unit. The judges gave him a month to find the funds, and his brother, Mukesh, stepped in just in time to make the payment.

Anil said in a filing that he recognized that the judge would want to know if he could satisfy any order to put up funds from outside resources, including his family.

“I can confirm that I have made enquiries but I am unable to raise any finance from external sources,” he said. Judge Waksman had said in an earlier ruling that he believed Ambani’s defence would be shown to be “opportunistic and false.”

Ambani’s lawyer told the judge that as a result of the comments the tycoon’s relatives were unlikely to lend any funds.

There is a “very substantial risk they will never get it back,” Howe said.

Mangaluru, Jul 15: The Mangaluru city police arrested three people in connection with the murder of Adyar Gram Panchayat member Yaqoob, which took place on Friday last week. Personal enmity and financial issues are the reason behind the murder, said police.

The arrested accused are Shakir, Haneef and Shakir Ahmed, all residents of Adyar.

 According to police, the main accused Shakir, who was involved with the sand mafia and had other business interests had financial issues, and personal enmity with Yaqoob, a GP member backed by the BJP. 

The investigating officer said they were produced before the court through video conference. They have been remanded in police custody for undergoing testing for Covid-19. They will be again be produced before the court physically, only if they test negative.