NSEL investors to move HC on proceeds of SMX sale

The investors association of scam-tainted National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) plans to petition the Mumbai high court to insist parent company Financial Technologies (FTIL) uses the money it has got from the sale of a Singapore venture to clear their dues.

FTIL has sold its subsidiary, Singapore Mercantile Exchange (SME), for $150 million, to US-based IntercontinentalExchange. The idea, it has been reported, is to settle its dues in markets abroad. However, the NSEL Investors Forum told its members on Thursday that it would petition the high court to stop this.

NSEL owes an estimated Rs 5,600 crore to the investors on the exchange; their demand is that any money FTIL gets first go for this purpose.

The Forum has already held five rounds of talks with Jignesh Shah, promoter of FTIL, in this regard. A Forum official said some decision on this was possible in two weeks; lawyers from both sides were in talks.

According to a source, Shah has offered to pay but wants the Forum to first withdraw the case they've already filed against him and FTIL. At Thursday's meet, the Forum decided to continue to pursue borrowers from NSEL to recover their dues. None of the borrowers other than Mohan India has come with a settlement plan so far.

The forum also concluded it would not surrender any legal rights without a concrete offer from NSEL and the promoters. The plan is to also file a suit to hold FTIL responsible for the NSEL default.