Sandesara Brothers Deposit Rs 5,100 Crore; Total Recovery Nearly Doubles Rs 5,383-Crore Fraud

Fugitive businessmen Nitin and Chetan Sandesara have deposited Rs 5,100 crore with the Supreme Court registry, fulfilling the apex court’s condition for withdrawal of criminal charges against them, their spokesperson said on Thursday.

With this deposit, total recovery against the brothers, accused of defaulting on bank loans worth Rs 5,383 crore that now stands at Rs 9,799 crore. The siblings, whose companies spanned pharmaceuticals to energy, fled India in 2017 on Albanian passports and were among 14 designated fugitive offenders under a 2018 law.

The Supreme Court had set a December 17 deadline for the payment. The Rs 5,100-crore deposit was made on December 6, as per the court’s November 19 order, which demanded the amount after consultations with banks and investigating agencies.

The statement from the family said the payment “comprehensively brings closure to all cases regarding the Sandesara family and their companies pending before multiple judicial forums and government agencies since 2017.”

The original CBI FIR in 2017 pegged the fraud at Rs 5,383 crore. In 2020, lenders offered a one-time settlement (OTS) of Rs 6,761 crore. The family paid Rs 614 crore upfront, and between 2021 and early 2025, cleared Rs 3,507 crore, including the initial payment. A bankruptcy court recovered Rs 1,192 crore through asset liquidation.

After adding the latest deposit, recoveries total Rs 9,799 crore, nearly double the FIR amount. The Supreme Court noted the OTS included Rs 3,826 crore for Indian companies and Rs 2,935 crore for foreign guarantors, totaling Rs 6,761 crore.

(With inputs from PTI)