Axis Bank notice to Golf Technologies over default

The company failed to repay dues worth Rs 20 crore

Axis Bank on Tuesday said it has served a notice to Golf Technologies (a Rs 600-crore company engaged in IT services) for failing to repay dues worth Rs 20 crore.

“A notice under the Sarfaesi (Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest) Act has been issued against the borrower for having defaulted in meeting its repayment obligations and the bank is taking suitable action in this regard,” the private lender said in a statement.

The company, however, said it has filed an FIR against the bank, nine of its senior executives and 14 board members, including Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Shikha Sharma, alleging fraud.

“The matter is being reviewed by our legal team. The bank follows robust systems and processes and believes in maintaining high standards in customer delivery, which are fully compliant with existing regulations,” Axis Bank said.

Golf Technologies claims that Axis Bank, without its authority, had released Rs 20 crore from its loan account of Rs 50 crore to its current account. From that current account, the bank allegedly, on the strength of a forged letter of instruction, transferred a sum of Rs 19.89 crore to some other party's account. The transfer, Golf Technologies said, was done in order to liquidate some liabilities of that other party.

Earlier a Delhi court had directed the police to file an FIR against the bank and its key executives following a criminal complaint filed by Golf Technologies.