#Justice
Target:
The Honourable President, Republic of India
Region:
India
Website:
onceinabluemoon2021.in

Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd. (DHFL) is a deposit-taking housing finance company, headquartered in Mumbai with branches in major cities across India.

In 2019, DHFL stopped payment of bonds and defaulted on its loan obligations. This caused its stock to fall over 97% and a government intervention in the company
In August 2019, as efforts to draft a resolution plan by restructuring DHFL debt into equity, a few of the DHFL bond holders moved to the debt recovery tribunal, which could impact the resolution process.[20] The company meanwhile offered to repay all investors in full with due process of inter-creditor-agreement.
In October 2019, the Enforcement Directorate conducted raids at several places of DHFL offices and promoter residences and found links of money laundering activity in loans given to firms closely linked to the promoters of the company.[22] Additionally the trail of the loan given by DHFL to Sunblink real estate in 2010 lead to gangster Iqbal Mirchi, an accomplice of the organized crime mastermind Dawood Ibrahim.
On 20 November 2019, under Section 45-IE (I) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the Indian central bank removed the board of directors of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL). The reasons cited by the banking regulator for the dismissal of the DHFL board of directors were: inadequate governance and the various defaults on its payment obligations.[24]
On 27 January 2020, the promoter of DHFL, Kapil Wadhawan was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The arrest was connected to his firm's alleged involvement in providing loans to the organized criminal enterprise of Dawood Ibrahim. On 22 February 2020, the PMLA court granted bail to Kapil Wadhwan. The Bombay high court upheld the bail decision by PMLA court, rejecting Indian Enforcement Directorate requests to stay the bail application.
The ED has linked Yes Bank for various fraud and transactions amounting to 3700 crores as debentures in DHFL. The central bank appointed administrator at Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) has ordered a transaction audit at the non-bank lender after allegations of money laundering surfaced in the aftermath of the regulatory action on Yes Bank.

Source: Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia

To,
Shri Ram Nath Kovind
Hon’ble President of India
Rashtrapati Bhawan,
New Delhi – 110004

Respected Sir,

Subject: Sufferings of Fixed Deposit (FD) holders due to IBC Act in the Resolution Process of DHFL

We are general public depositors who had invested our savings in Fixed Deposits (FD) of DHFL, a Housing Finance NBFC regulated by the National Housing Bank (NHB). Many of us are Senior Citizens who have invested life savings in these FDs and rely on interest income for the basic financial needs. DHFL’s FD scheme had been continuously rated “AAA” by reputed national rating agencies.

In November 2019, DHFL was suddenly put under IBC by giving special powers to RBI. DHFL is since being run by an Administrator appointed by the RBI. Repayments to FD holders have been stopped and FD holders have been clubbed together with banks and other big lenders in the resolution process by the RBI-appointed Administrator. We, FD holders, are waiting for repayment of our monies since then.

Requests for full repayment have been put forth many times to various agencies, but they have not been considered citing IBC. Meanwhile, DHFL has also started its lending process without paying FD holders.

Sir, we would like to draw your kind attention to the following:

1. Section 29 of the NHB Act safeguards repayments to public depositors by any Housing Finance Company to continue its business. DHFL is very much a going concern and doing business even now.
2. Public FD holders are not lenders and they should not be clubbed with banks and financial creditors in the resolution process under the IBC. There is no precedence of such clubbing of FD holders of an NBFC.
3. IBC, or any Act, is meant to prevent any activity which is against public interest. We request your kind self to see if public interest will be served if we, small public depositors, lose our life savings due to IBC, which otherwise is safeguarded by the prevailing NHB Act.
4. We, small public depositors, are not powerful enough to negotiate and decide the resolution process. Also, we cannot bear any haircut or delay in payment like banks and big lenders.

Sir, we humbly request your kind self to direct the following to the RBI appointed Administrator of DHFL in public interest:

i. De-club the FD holders from the lenders and financial creditors in the resolution process of DHFL.
ii. Repay full amount with interest till date to all the matured FDs immediately.
iii. Make provision of full repayment to FDs which are yet to mature, as and when they mature, in the resolution process of DHFL which will be binding on the prospective future owner of the company.

As the President of our country and the protector of the constitution of our country, our hopes lie on you to prevent our sufferings and unfair treatment under IBC.

With highest regards,

COPY TO:
1. The Honourable Prime Minister, Government of India
2. The Honourable Finance Minister, Government of India
3. The Honourable Governor, Reserve Bank of India, Government of India
4. The Honourable Administrator, Reserve Bank of India, DHFL, Government of India
5. The Honourable Authorised Representative acting on behalf of the Public Depositors, DHFL, Government of India

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The Justice For The DHFL Fixed Deposit Holders petition to The Honourable President, Republic of India was written by Debaprasad Bandyopadhyay and is in the category Justice at GoPetition.