Sahara says Mirach forged bank letter guaranteeing funds

Crisis-hit Sahara on Thursday said it has been cheated by US-based Mirach Capital with a "forged letter" claiming $2 billion funding through Bank of America – a major blow to the group's fund-raising efforts to secure bail for its chief Subrata Roy.

Stung by the forgery, Sahara said it will initiate all suitable legal action, including civil and criminal proceedings in India and in the US, against Mirach and its officers.

There was no immediate reply to queries made on Sahara's charges to Mirach, which is run by Indian-origin businessman Saransh Sharma, who had earlier in the day claimed he was committed to complete the deal and hinted at sabotage attempts by his rivals to scuttle the deal.

The Sahara-Mirach deal had taken a mysterious turn after Bank of America's disclosure that it was not the banker as claimed by Mirach in its proposed financing for Sahara.

"We are in no way connected with this transaction," a spokesperson for Bank of America Merrill Lynch told PTI.

The purported transaction was to involve transfer of loans on Sahara's three iconic overseas hotels -- two in New York and one in London -- to a syndicate of investors, for which Mirach had claimed to have initially deposited $1,050 million in a Bank of America account. The financing package was to be expanded to about $2 billion eventually.

Sahara was looking to use part of these funds to ensure release of Roy and his two colleagues from Tihar Jail, where they have been lodged for almost a year in a case relating to repayment of investors' money totalling over Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion).

"We will take up all suitable legal proceedings including - civil and criminal, against Mirach Capital Group and their all officers involved in the transaction - both in India and in the USA, for such reckless conduct of Mirach," Sahara said in a strongly-worded statement.

"Because of having focus on this transaction, we could not take up other offers for last three – four months. We are astonished and feel cheated in such an adverse environment against us. We strongly condemn such inhuman conduct of Mirach and its officers and make it clear that Sahara will not spare them," it added.

Sahara said Sharma claimed to have "billions of funds with him" and had entered into pacts with the group and was paid "crores of rupees towards facility fee in the matter".

Sahara said it got some "disturbing information" about Mirach deal on February 1, following which it began its own due diligence to check the veracity of BofA letter.

This is the second time that a proposed deal regarding Sahara's properties has fallen through in quick succession.

Earlier, a deal with Sultan of Brunei could not fructify. Sahara said it has received a report from its London-based counsel, who visited the concerned Bank of America branch in the US, that the letter given to it by Mirach was "a forged letter".

As per submissions made before the Supreme Court last month, Mirach was to conduct this deal through funds deposited in an account with Bank of America, which was proposed to transfer funds to the accounts of two Sahara entities.

Earlier in the day, following Bank of America's disclosure, Sharma had said that Mirach has "determined" a bank for the Sahara transaction but did not give any direct reply on BofA's denial of being the banker.

Sources said that BofA came to know through media reports that its name was being mentioned in the court documents as a banker for the deal, following which it did the due diligence that indicated possible misuse of its name.

Sahara said it had entered into agreements of financial arrangements with Mirach to arrange the bail amount for release of Roy and his two colleagues, on the security strength of three foreign hotel properties -- the Plaza and Dream Downtown in the US and Grosvenor House in the UK.

Sharma, as CEO of Mirach, also met the amicus curiae and senior counsel for Sebi to assure about the veracity of the transaction and was personally present in the Supreme Court on last date of hearing on January 9 to understand the case.

"The transaction had got approval of the Supreme Court, when Mirach filed a letter of Bank of America showing that Mirach had blocked sufficient funds with Bank of America for this transaction.

"On insistence of Mirach, an Affidavit for clarification was also filed before Supreme Court. Mirach meanwhile also received crores of rupees towards facility fee in the matter," Sahara said.

As per a Supreme Court order, dated January 9, Sahara lawyers placed before the bench "a communication dated January 5, 2015 addressed by Bank of America to Sahara India Pariwar, inter alia stating that under directions from Mirach Capital Group LLC, an amount of $1,050 million remains blocked and, earmarked till February 20, 2015 for the transactions being processed between Mirach and Sahara".