CBI closes case against former promoters of NDTV Prannoy Roy, wife

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday filed a closure report in a court in connection with a case against NDTV’s former directors and promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy registered in 2017 for allegedly causing a wilful loss of over Rs 48 crore to ICICI Bank, due to lack of evidence.

In 2017, the CBI had registered a case against the Roys, a private company and others for allegedly causing losses to the private bank.

The case pertains to an alleged bank loan default of Rs 48 crore taken from ICICI Bank by Roy in 2009.

According to the CBI’s FIR, NDTV’s Prannoy Roy had defaulted on a loan taken for a company named RRPR Holdings Private Limited.

Following the CBI’s case, the ED also filed a case against the Roys.

The CBI had registered the FIR in 2017 based on a complaint from Sanjay Dutt, of Quantum Securities Ltd, who alleged that RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd, the company linked to the Roys, had taken a Rs 500 crore loan from India Bulls Pvt Limited to acquire a 20 per cent stake in NDTV.

The complaint had also alleged that the Roys had, without reporting to SEBI, or the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, pledged their entire shareholding as collateral for the loan.