NSEL writes to 6 CMs to recover defaulters' dues

Crisis-hit National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) has sought the intervention of state governments as its attempts to recover Rs 5,335 crore owed by 22 defaulters to investors, a top bourse official said today.

"Out of 24 defaulters, only two members have paid fully, while the rest 22 members are still defaulting on payment. So, we have written to chief ministers of six states seeking their intervention in recovering money," said NSEL chief executive officer and managing director Saji Cherian.

Separate letters have been written to the chief ministers of Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. The Gujarat and Punjab governments have extended assistance on this issue, he said.

The NSEL chief said the exchange is also seeking the help of the Delhi government.

The commodity spot exchange, a subsidiary of Jignesh Shah-led Financial Technologies India Ltd, has recovered about Rs 354 crore of dues from defaulting members out of the total outstanding amount of Rs 5,689 crore.

The exchange has been grappling with a payment crisis since suspending trade in July last year following a government order.

Multiple agencies are probing the NSEL's activities and assets of defaulters have also been attached.

Cherian said the NSEL has to recover Rs 1,524 crore from five defaulters - three Loil group firms, ARK Imports and White Water Foods Pvt Ltd - in Punjab, Rs 962 crore from N K Proteins in Gujarat and Rs 415 crore from two defaulters in Haryana.

About Rs 34.5 crore has to be recovered from Shree Radhey Trading Co in Uttar Pradesh, Rs 23 crore from Aastha Minmet India Pvt in Karnataka and Rs 13.94 crore from Vimladevi Agrotech in Rajasthan, he added.

The exchange plans to ask the Delhi government for help to collect Rs 1,563 crore from four defaulters in the state, including Mohan India and Tavishi Enterprises. The remaining dues have to be recovered from defaulters in other parts of the country.

Until May, the NSEL has paid about Rs 533 crore to investors, out of which Rs 179 crore was given from FTIL's resources while about Rs 354 was recovered from defaulters, he added.