Mumbai: Business tycoon and fitness freak Yash Birla, who is grappling with financial troubles, might soon lose the iconic Birla House on Mount Pleasant Road and other properties in Mumbai.
The state government’s home department has attached properties belonging to Birla after his company allegedly defaulted on returns to investors.
Besides the palatial Birla House in South Mumbai, other properties have also been attached, including a bungalow in Juhu near the seashore. The Maharashtra government’s home department on November 24, 2016 issued a notification to Birla, a copy of which is available with this newspaper. The notification reads: “Whereas complaint has been received from a number of depositors, against Birla Power Solution Limited, (herein after referred to as the said financial establishment) complaining that they have, collected funds and have defaulted to return the said deposit, by the depositors on demand”.
Birla Power assured monthly high returns
The case was that many individuals had deposited money with Birla Power Solution, where the depositors were allegedly assured returns as high as 2 per cent per month on their deposits. But soon the company allegedly started defaulting on the returns and things turned ugly when many investors approached the police.
The government notice further reads: “Whereas the state government is satisfied that the financial establishment and their chairman/director are not likely to return the deposits to the depositors, and hence the government has to protect the interest of depositors. And whereas the properties specified in the schedule (list of properties) alleged to have been acquired by the said financial establishment and their chairman and directors from and out of the deposits collected by the said financial establishment”.
“Now therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub section 1 of section 4, section 5, and section 8 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In financial establishments) Act 1999, the government of Maharashtra hereby attaches the property of the said financial establishment and the property in the name of their chairman and directors,” read the notice. However, Mr Birla’s lawyer claimed that the notification hasn’t reached them yet.
