2 days ago
HDFC Bank says it has commenced legal action against Lilavati Trust over loan default issue
HDFC Bank on Wednesday said it 'has commenced the process of taking legal action permissible under law to vindicate its position' over allegations of a loan default by Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Medical Trust (LKMM), which runs a leading medical institution.
'We are concerned about all our stakeholders and are on the verge of taking strong legal actions as per expert advice, against those who are initiating these baseless allegations with malafide and ulterior motives or involved in propagating the same,' an HDFC Bank spokesperson said in a statement.
'Despite repeated public claims and legal accusations, Sashidhar Jagdishan or HDFC Bank has never produced a single official loan ledger or agreement in court regarding its supposed transaction with LKMM Trust. Even more concerning, various documents from the bank reflect widely inconsistent loan amounts for instance, Rs 4.8 crore was cited initially, Rs 450 crore in another filing, and now Rs 65.22 crore which are just three examples of many of the company in question,' LKMM alleged in a statement,
'The allegations and insinuations made by the trustees are devoid of any iota of truth whatsoever. Neither the bank nor its CEO have engaged in any activity that is illegal, unethical or improper,' HDFC Bank spokesperson said. 'We are fully compliant with the laws of the land and follow the highest standards of governance and ethics. The content, timing and manner of allegations demonstrate the devious objective of preventing the Bank from carrying out its legal mandate of recovery and enforcement,' the bank spokesperson said.
The Trust had last week called for the suspension and prosecution of HDFC Bank MD and CEO Sashidhar Jagdishan, accusing him of involvement in a series of financial frauds concerning the Trust.
'Despite all the noise, not a single official loan ledger has been presented in court of LKMM trust or Prashant Mehta,' said Prashant Mehta, Permanent Trustee of LKMM. 'How can one of India's largest banks make three different claims about a single loan, and not back it up with a basic loan agreement and ledger?' Mehta said.
'LKMM Trust and Prashant Mehta maintains it has never taken a loan from HDFC Bank, and these inconsistencies support that claim, rather than refute it,' the Trust said.
