SC agrees to $570 mn settlement by fugitive billionaire Sandesara brothers

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India's Supreme Court has agreed to drop criminal charges against billionaire brothers Nitin and Chetan Sandesara if they pay a third of their dues in a $1.6-billion bank fraud, a step that could prompt other offenders to seek similar settlements.

After being accused of defaulting on domestic bank loans, the brothers, whose companies spanned industries from pharmacueticals to energy, fled India in 2017 on Albanian passports, court filings showed. They denied wrongdoing.

The Supreme Court order, published on its website on Friday, is being reported for the first time. It quoted the brothers' lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, as saying they were agreeable to paying a settlement of $570 million, and set a December 17 deadline.

Rohatgi told the court his client were ready to settle "to get rid of all proceedings", the order said, and asked for all proceedings to be quashed.

Rohatgi did not immediately respond to Reuters queries.

The brothers figure among 14 designated fugitive economic offenders under a 2018 law that allows the freezing of assets.

Others in the category are Kingfisher Airlines founder Vijay Mallya and diamond magnate Nirav Modi, who both deny accusations of bank fraud.

The Sandesaras own Nigeria's Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production, which contributes 2.5 per cent of federal revenue, the company says on its website.

India's federal crime fighting agency accused the brothers, known for throwing lavish parties attended by Bollywood stars, of duping banks to the tune of $1.6 billion, though they denied the allegations.

The ruling could open the way for economic offenders to strike similar settlements, leaving lenders struggling to recover their entire dues, said Debopriyo Moulik, a Supreme Court lawyer in independent practice.

"This is very similar to the approach adopted in foreign countries where fines are an alternative to facing trial," Moulik said.