Vijay Mallya, Mehul Choksi's Properties Worth Rs 22,280 Crore Restored - FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman , during her reply to the debate on the Supplementary Demands for Grants for 2024-25 in the Lok Sabha, announced a significant achievement by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED).

As per the report by ANI, she stated that properties worth Rs 22,280 crore linked to economic offenders have been restored to public and private sector banks, underscoring the government’s resolve in addressing financial crimes.

“It is important to recognise that we have not left anybody in economic offences; we are after them. We will ensure that money that has to go to the banks goes back,” Sitharaman asserted as mentioned in the report by ANI. 

Breakdown of Recovered Assets
The finance minister provided a detailed breakdown of major recoveries:

Vijay Mallya: Properties worth Rs 14,131.6 crore have been restored to public sector banks.
Nirav Modi: Assets valued at Rs 1,052.58 crore were handed over to public and private sector banks.
Mehul Choksi and Others: Properties worth Rs 2,565.90 crore were recovered.

Other notable recoveries include:

National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) Scam: Rs 17.47 crore
SRS Group: Rs 20.15 crore
Rose Valley Group: Rs 19.40 crore
Surya Pharmaceuticals Ltd: Rs 185.13 crore
Heera Group (Nowhera Sheikh and Others): Rs 226 crore
Naidu Amrutesh Reddy and Others: Rs 12.73 crore

Economic Resilience Amid Challenges
In addition to detailing the ED’s successes, Sitharaman addressed concerns about India’s economic growth. While acknowledging the lower-than-expected GDP growth of 5.4% in the July-September quarter of FY 2024-25, she attributed this to a “temporary blip” and highlighted the resilience of the Indian economy.
“The country’s GDP growth has averaged 8.3% over the last three years, demonstrating resilience despite global uncertainties,” she said as mentioned in the report by ANI.

Sitharaman emphasized that the second quarter was a challenging period not only for India but for economies worldwide.

The Indian economy grew by 6.7% in the April-June quarter, both figures falling short of the Reserve Bank of India’s forecast of 7%.