Religare Will ‘Go After Anyone Who Owes It Money’, Says New Board Member

Religare Enterprise Ltd.’s revamped board is ready to “go after” any borrowers that owe the company money.

“It is our fiduciary duty and we intend to fulfill it completely,” said the company's new Independent Director, Vikram Talwar in an interview to BloombergQuint. Talwar was appointed to the Religare board on Feb. 17, as part of the revamp following the resignations of Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh on Feb. 14.

This comes amidst allegations that Religare promoters Malvinder and Shivider Singh siphoned at least $300 million to privately held firms, through loans made by the public company.

The Religare board has also appointed external auditors to review its portfolio of loans to identify the ones that are not performing as per schedule, Talwar said. “We will not spare any effort to collect whatever we can from those borrowers who have not repaid their interest or principle. In one line – we are going after them,” he added.

Also Read: Singh May No Longer Be King At Religare

Religare’s total liabilities stood over Rs 2,200 crore at the end of the second quarter of the financial year.

The board will also review its prior commitments on insurance subsidiary True North and the company’s broking arm. The search for a new full-time executive officer has begun, and the process could take three or four months, Talwar added.

Also Read: India Is Said to Order Three-Month Probe Into Fortis, Religare

Here’s the full interview with Vikram Talwar.