CBI files closure report in NDTV promoters cheating case after 7 yrs probe

The CBI on Tuesday filed a closure report in a case of alleged cheating against former NDTV promoters and directors Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy as it could not find legally tenable evidence in the Rs 48 crore loss incurred by ICICI Bank in the settlement of a loan in 2009, officials said. The case was initiated in 2017 when the CBI registered an FIR based on a complaint from an individual, Sanjay Dutt, of Quantum Securities Ltd who alleged that RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd, associated with the Roys, had taken a Rs 500 crore loan from India Bulls Pvt Limited to acquire a 20 per cent stake in NDTV through a public open offer. According to the FIR, RRPR Holdings also took out a Rs 375 crore loan (with Rs 350 crore disbursed) from ICICI Bank at an interest rate of 19 per cent per annum to repay the loan from India Bulls. The complaint alleged that the Roys pledged their entire shareholding as collateral for this loan, failing to report the pledging to the Securities and Exchange Board of India