JSW Steel not backing out, but wants clarity on fraud report against Bhushan Steel & Power

New Delhi: JSW Steel assured the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday that it is not backing out of the resolution process of Bhushan Power & Steel (BPSL) and is still keen on acquiring it, but added that it wants to know what's going on inside the company. The statement comes just days after Allahabad Bank flagged a fraud of over Rs 1,774 crore by Bhushan Power to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

During the insolvency proceedings, the NCLT counsel, representing JSW Steel, told the bench that it was anxious about the alleged fraud reported by Allahabad Bank.

Tribunal asks RP to hand over forensic report to JSW Steel

A two-member NCLT bench headed by Justice MM Kumar asked Bhushan Power and Steel's Resolution Professional (RP) to hand over a copy of the forensic report to JSW Steel. It also assured JSW Steel that the alleged fraud reports will not have any impact on the insolvency resolution process and the company's resolution plan for BPSL.

NCLT is yet to get an approval from the lenders on the resolution plan floated by JSW Steel.

The backdrop

On February 4, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had dismissed Tata Steel's resolution plan and had upheld the Committee of Creditors (CoC) decision to approve JSW Steel's bid.

JSW Steel had revised its offer from Rs 11,000 crore to Rs 18,000 crore and later to over Rs 19,000 crore, Tata Steel, on the other hand, had last offered Rs 17,000 crore after which it had refused to revise its bid.