IDFC mulls legal action to protect its interest in DCHL case

Crime Branch had registered FIR against IDFC, senior executives

IDFC today said that it will take legal action to protect its interests following the complaint lodged against the company in Chennai.   

“This is a frivolous legal action; We haven’t even sold the paper to party concerned. So we will take all appropriate legal action, clarify our position and protect our interests,” said Rajiv Lall, vice chairman and managing director told reporters today.

Centra crime branch police had registered first information report (FIR) against IDFC and its senior executives including Lall, Vikram Limaye who is deputy managing director and also Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited (DCHL) whose commercial papers (CP) complainant Photon Infotech Pvt Ltd had bought.

Photon Infotech in its complaint had said IDFC was well aware of the bankruptcy of DCHL but didn’t disclose it and obtained addition security from the company and sold the CPs to them even after knowing of bankruptcy. This came to light during the proceedings launched by IDFC at Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Hyderabad, Photon further said in its complaint         

To this Lall said, “we bought the paper ourselves. If we had known we wouldn’t’ have bought it (CP) and we couldn’t avoid our own losses so it absurd to suggest that knowingly we sold it to somebody else.”   

Lall also claimed that no paper has been sold to Photon directly from IDFC and it was sold by the intermediary.

“No paper has been sold to this particular party (Photon) directly from us” he said.  

Photon had also said that CARE, the credit rating agency, was duped by both DCHL and IDFC through fabricated and inflated reports which portrayed that DCHL was in a 'sound financial condition'. Based on such a projection, CARE categorised DCHL's credit rating as A 1+.

According to Lall, nobody was aware of the situation at DCHL. Even rating agencies failed to detect it, so there is no merit in these allegations and appropriate action will be taken (from IDFC).