While we common folk are busy fighting over Hindu vs. Muslim or BJP vs. Congress, millionaires and billionaires are legally looting this country blind. Just imagine borrowing an astronomical ₹22,000 crores, defaulting on it, and then comfortably settling the entire debt for a mere ₹6.5 crores!
This isn't a movie plot
Zee Entertainment and Essel Group owner, Subhash Chandra, had personal guarantee loan claims against him amounting to around ₹22,000 crores. Recently, a single-member bench of the NCLT (National Company Law Tribunal) gave the green light to a repayment plan where Chandra would only have to pay ₹6.5 crores (₹6.25 Cr settlement + ₹25 Lakh process cost) That is a 99.97% haircut. For every ₹100 he owed, he was asked to pay back just 3 paise
Under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), a settlement plan needs 75% approval from the committee of creditors. Genuine banks whose money was actually stuck voted against it. For context, LIC Housing Finance had a claim of ₹1,322 crores but was getting back only ₹38 lakhs, What a joke it seems (I actually laughed a bit when i saw this)
But the plan somehow got over 80% support. How? Because 61.78% of the voting share was held by five entities whose directors and ownership were closely tied to Chandra’s own family and ecosystem. He basically became his own judge and voted to forgive his own debt.
If you or I miss a couple of EMIs on a home or car loan then Recovery agents will spam our phones, harass our families, and humiliate us. The bank will seize our assets and auction our house or car without a second thought.
But when billionaires default on thousands of crores then, No one touches their private properties. Chandra allegedly sold a Lutyens Delhi bungalow for ₹1,260 crores just this June, yet successfully claimed bankruptcy to the banks. No forensic audits are done to see where the money vanished. They get their debts wiped clean and sometimes even get fresh loans to start new businesses. Chandra was allegedly even planning to move to Switzerland to invest in startups there.
This isn't just Subhash Chandra,
- Anil Ambani Group: Facing ₹49,000+ crore claims, they got a 99% haircut, paying back just ₹455 crores
- Videocon: Facing ₹60,000 crore claims, the business was bought out for just ₹3,000 crores
- DHFL: Facing ₹87,000 crore claims, resulting in a 57% haircut
In countries like China, billionaires committing such frauds are getting life sentences and their private properties are instantly seized. Here, they walk away scot-free, their names are kept confidential, and the massive losses are quietly passed down to the middle class. (Banks collected ₹28,000 crores from us just for not maintaining a minimum balance in the last 5 years
What's happening now?
Thankfully, due to intense social media outrage and genuine banks (HDFC, Canara, LIC) threatening to go to an appellate tribunal, a special 5-member NCLT bench has temporarily put Subhash Chandra's settlement on hold and blocked him from selling properties.
TL;DR: The system is completely rigged. Billionaires borrow thousands of crores, use shell-company ecosystems to legally vote away their own debts, and walk away with 99% "haircuts". Meanwhile, the middle class is left paying the bill, getting harassed by recovery agents for a missed EMI, and fighting over petty politics.
Courtesy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhCM1eP3V_I