'Borrowers repaid ₹3,803 crore of ₹4,808 crore': Subhash Chandra shares personal guarantee details in NCLT case

Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra on Sunday responded to social media posts surrounding his personal insolvency matter, saying there has been a "wrong perception and understanding" of the issue. In a post on X, Chandra said he had been observing social media posts on the matter for the past three days, including posts carrying the hashtag #PaiseVapasKaro.

"Hence, I am giving a detailed account of the entire matter," Chandra said.

In a statement, Chandra said his own borrowing stood at ₹0, while the total personal guarantees he had signed amounted to ₹22,000 crore. Of this, he said ₹4,800 crore in guarantees were signed at the time the borrowers borrowed the funds, while the remaining guarantees were signed after defaults occurred.

Chandra presents numbers to back claims

Chandra said the repayment plan in his personal insolvency case was prepared by the Resolution Professional (RP), who was appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and is considered a court officer.

According to the figures shared by Chandra, borrowers had received a total of ₹4,808 crore from the lenders listed in the statement and had repaid ₹3,803 crore, leaving a balance of ₹998 crore.

However, the claims filed by the lenders amounted to ₹5,311 crore, according to the statement. After accounting for settled or paid claims of ₹1,049 crore, the remaining claims stood at ₹4,262 crore.

Chandra said the figures differed from an earlier press statement, which had cited ₹3,992 crore and ₹4,262 crore, because some accounts were not taken into consideration as they had neither voted for nor against the resolution plan.

What Chandra said about lenders

The statement listed claims involving several lenders, including India Bulls Housing Finance, Axis Bank Group, HDFC Group, Canara Bank, Edelweiss, Franklin Templeton, IndusInd Bank, LIC Housing Finance, RBL Bank and Union Bank.

Chandra said the India Bulls Housing Finance and Axis Bank Group claims had been settled or paid. He also made various claims about securities available to lenders and the actions taken by borrowers and lenders during the default period.

He said the borrowers had assured him that they would settle the ₹4,262 crore after reconciliation with the lenders and pay the balance.

Chandra also said there was "substantial borrowing" from other sources, including foreign funds, domestic funds, NBFCs and corporates. According to him, most of these borrowings were either being settled by the borrowers or had adequate assets against them or were going to be paid.

He said he hoped lenders would also discuss the matter with borrowers, reconcile the outstanding accounts and recover the amounts due.

Chandra concluded by saying he hoped people who supported #PaisaWapasKaro and others who had commented on social media would be satisfied with the details provided.

NCLT repayment plan for Chandra

The development comes days after NCLT approved a repayment plan that would leave creditors recovering only a fraction of their ₹22,006.57-crore claims -- bout three paise for every ₹100 owed, or a 99.97% haircut.

The tribunal considered more than just the huge difference between the creditors' claims and the proposed payout.

It examined the value of Chandra's personal assets and found that they were considerably lower than the amount offered under the repayment plan.

The plan received the backing of creditors holding more than 80% of the voting share.

Reacting to the NCLT order, Chandra in a video message said that the NCLT proceedings against him were related only to personal guarantees that he had provided to certain lenders.

He added that some of the lenders had already received their money but still submitted claims before the tribunal. "I had signed some personal guarantees to some lenders. And I don't know why, but some lenders' entire money was also repaid. But they also entered their claim in NCLT," he said.

Chandra also added that his family had sold assets to help meet the repayments.