Supreme Court
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of JSW Steel. ED will have to return BPSL assets worth Rs 4,025 crore. JSW Steel acquired BPSL for Rs 20,000 crore. The ED initially attached his properties in connection with a money laundering probe. The Supreme Court ruling brings an end to a four-year legal battle. JSW Steel now has control over BPSL assets.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday said it has returned assets worth Rs 4,025 crore of erstwhile Bhushan Steel and Power Limited to JSW Steel. He did so with the approval of the Supreme Court. JSW Steel was the applicant for successful resolution of the assets of bankrupt Bhushan Steel under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).
Money seized must be returned
The federal probe agency had earlier seized the properties as part of its probe against Bhushan Steel and Power and its promoters under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for alleged bank loan fraud and misappropriation of funds. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said it will return assets worth Rs 4,025 crore. The Supreme Court on Wednesday approved ED’s proposal.
Nearly four years after JSW Steel’s Rs 20,000-crore offer to acquire BPSL was finalized, ED has now made a U-turn and said JSW Steel should be allowed to participate. The Supreme Court directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to hand over assets worth Rs 4,025 crore of debt-laden Bhushan Power and Steel to JSW Steel. The agency was temporarily seized in 2019 amid a money laundering investigation into alleged bank loan fraud. Now ED has to return the money to BPSL.
