State Bank of India (SBI), one of the lenders to Religare Finvest Ltd. (RFL), has removed RFL’s record from the Central Fraud Registry database, RFL said in a statement.
This decision follows a recent order of the Delhi High Court directing SBI to remove the fraud tag, SBI on Thursday informed RFL through a formal communication, the company said.
In March 2023, RFL, a wholly owned subsidiary of Religare Enterprises Ltd. (REL), completed a one-time settlement (OTS) with 16 lenders through organic collections. The company said it had paid more than ₹9,000 crore to lenders.
Currently, RFL is awaiting the lifting of the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) imposed on it by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in January 2018.
Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson, REL & CMD RFL said, “The removal of the ‘fraud’ tag stands as a testament to the commitment and dedication of the company’s board, management and employees in resurrecting RFL and the Group from the brink in the aftermath of fraud perpetrated by the erstwhile promoters and their affiliates and putting it on the path of growth and development.”
Pankaj Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, RFL said, “The announcement holds great significance for the company, as it will open doors for our strategic path towards achieving growth. RFL eagerly awaits the much anticipated removal of the RBI Corrective Action Plan (CAP) that was put into effect in January 2018.”
The Central Fraud Registry, established under the RBI (Frauds Classification and Reporting by Commercial Banks and Select FIs) Directions, 2016, is a web-based and searchable database on frauds reported by commercial banks and select financial institutions in terms of Master Directions on classification and reporting of frauds.
