Rs 5,600 crore NSEL scam set their bets on FTIL and NSEL merger as their last ray of hope!

With FTIL (Financial Technologies India Ltd) and NSEL merger getting further extended, the purpose to pay off the distressed victims of the Rs 5,600 crore NSEL scam seems to be defeated. The victims are still running from post to pillar to recover their lost money even after 29 months of the scam in 2013.

In a letter to Arun Jaitley, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), the aggrieved victims have now communicated their displeasure over the ministry’s request for further extension of the merger.

“The whole idea behind this merger was to alleviate the pain and suffering of investors and shift the onus of settling outstanding trades of NSEL on to 99.9998% owner parent company FTIL which through its directors masterminded the whole scam,” said Ketan Shah, the general secretary of NSEL Investors Action Group, an association of victims.

He further added that since the merger was the only way out for recovering their money from Jignesh Shah’s former company FTIL, the fact that MCA sought extension to read the “ voluminous papers submitted by FTIL in their representation” is a disappointing news.

“There are investors who are suffering from life threatening illnesses like cancer, heart problems etc. but have no money to take care of medical treatment. There are retired people, widows and senior citizens who had invested in NSEL for monthly income to survive their daily needs and now their total capital has vanished in this scam making their lives absolutely difficult and unbearable,” noted Shah.

The association has also alleged that key accused Jignesh Shah has been lobbying hard with officials in both MCA and Ministry of Finance to frustrate genuine efforts of the Modi government. “We have also seen that the MCA efforts to replace FTIL board in CLB have hit a dead wall and FTIL and Union of India counsels are jointly seeking adjournment which raises serious questions about the credibility and purpose of this CLB (Company’s Law Board) exercise initiated by MCA,” he added.

It should be noted that the MCA had prepared a draft of the merger back in October 2014, which was challenged by FTIL’s new board as the merger will adversely impact the company’s valuation as well as the existing investors’ sentiments. However, this seems to be the only for the victims of the Rs 5,600 crore NSEL scam.