SBI to withdraw fraud tag on Rel Infratel Ltd

Mumbai/Delhi, June 9 In a strange turn of events, the State Bank of India (SBI) on Wednesday chose to withdraw the fraud tag against RComs tower and fibre company Reliance Infratel Ltd by filing an affidavit in NCLT Mumbai, stating that it wanted to remove the fraud tag on the company.

Reliance Projects and Property Management Services, a part of Reliance Industries Group, was the successful resolution partner in the CIRP (Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process) of Rel Infratel Ltd. It won the right to acquire 100 per cent shareholding of Rel Infratel Ltd.

In its resolution order dated December 3, 2020, the NCLT had awarded the company to RIL Group. However, SBI had classified the Rel Infratel Ltd account as fraud on November 10, 2020, but curiously withheld this vital piece of information before the NCLT when it gave its order.

Further, the material event of information being withheld from the NCLT process was a grave error and the same SBI fraud classification wasn't uploaded on the CRILIC website for 45 days till December21, 2020.

SBI thus violated the disclosure norms by updating CRILIC much later. On January 5, 2021, SBI chose to file a complaint with CBI Delhi against Rel Infratel Ltd's erstwhile directors.

Rel Infratel Ltd then moved the Delhi High Court on January 6, 2021 and got a stay against SBI actions. The court also ordered a status quo to be maintained on the CBI complaint.

Subsequently, SBI has chosen to withdraw the fraud tag against Rel Infratel Ltd by filing an affidavit to declassify it before NCLT Mumbai on June 10.