CBI files closure report in NDTV promoters cheating case after 7 yrs probe

The CBI on Tuesday filed a closure report in a case of alleged cheating against former NDTV promoters and directors Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy as it could not find legally tenable evidence in the Rs 48 crore loss incurred by ICICI Bank in the settlement of a loan in 2009, officials said.

The case was initiated in 2017 when the CBI registered an FIR based on a complaint from an individual, Sanjay Dutt, of Quantum Securities Ltd who alleged that RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd, associated with the Roys, had taken a Rs 500 crore loan from India Bulls Pvt Limited to acquire a 20 per cent stake in NDTV through a public open offer.

According to the FIR, RRPR Holdings also took out a Rs 375 crore loan (with Rs 350 crore disbursed) from ICICI Bank at an interest rate of 19 per cent per annum to repay the loan from India Bulls.

The complaint alleged that the Roys pledged their entire shareholding as collateral for this loan, failing to report the pledging to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), stock exchanges, or the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

In 2022, the Adani Group acquired a controlling stake in NDTV, purchasing shares from the Roys at a premium of nearly 17 per cent over the price paid to minority shareholders.

After more than seven years of investigation, the CBI has now filed a closure report with a special court, which will determine whether to accept the report or instruct the agency to continue its probe.

NDTV, following searches conducted on June 5, 2017, stated that the Rs 375 crore loan from ICICI Bank, which it was accused of defaulting on, had been repaid over seven years ago.

The company also asserted that the allegation of failing to disclose the pledging of shares to SEBI was "incorrect and false".

"NDTV and its promoters have never defaulted on any loan to ICICI or any other bank. We adhere to the highest levels of integrity and independence," the company had emphasised.