We sold our house: Subhash Chandra says Essel repaid Rs 43,000 Cr

Subhash Chandra defended his personal insolvency proceedings and disputed the Rs 22,006 crore claims figure. He said the amount arose from personal guarantees for group loans and sought an independent audit of repayments.

In Short

• He said the crisis began with an asset-liability mismatch in 2019
• Chandra said his family sold assets, including their home, during repayments
• He said only around Rs 2,000 crore remains tied to delays

Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra has pushed back against criticism over his personal insolvency proceedings, saying the group has repaid around Rs 43,000 crore of the nearly Rs 45,000 crore it owed after its financial crisis in 2019.

In a video message, Chandra said he and his family sold personal assets, including their home, to meet the group's repayment obligations. He also disputed the widely reported figure of around Rs 22,000 crore in claims against him before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), saying the amount did not represent money he had personally borrowed.

His remarks came days after the NCLT approved a resolution plan under which Chandra would pay around Rs 6.5 crore against admitted claims of approximately Rs 22,006 crore. The plan has drawn criticism from lenders because the proposed recovery amounts to only about 0.03% of the admitted claims.

Chandra, however, said the Rs 22,000-crore figure needed to be viewed in the context of his role as a personal guarantor for loans raised by companies associated with the Essel Group.

'WE SOLD OUR HOUSE, BUT PAID EVERYONE'S MONEY'

Chandra said the group's financial problems surfaced on January 24, 2019, because of an asset-liability mismatch. He recalled publicly acknowledging his mistakes at the time and promising to repay the money owed to the financial system.

"I said that I had made some mistakes," he said, adding that he subsequently pushed the group's borrowing entities to meet their obligations.

Chandra said the group had liabilities of around Rs 45,000 crore when the crisis emerged and claimed that about Rs 43,000 crore had since been repaid.

"We sold our family's assets, we sold our assets, we almost sold Company, we did not keep anything, we even sold our house, but we paid everyone's money," he said.

According to Chandra, roughly Rs 2,000 crore remains linked to companies where asset-liability mismatches have delayed repayment. He said his current financial position was vastly different from the wealth associated with him during the peak of his career. Chandra said he now has around Rs 6.5 crore and a small residential property, part of which he has rented out to meet his expenses.

CHANDRA DISPUTES Rs 22,000-CRORE FIGURE

Chandra also challenged the way the Rs 22,006-crore figure has been presented in reports about his insolvency proceedings. He said the amount represented claims filed in proceedings arising from personal guarantees he had provided to lenders for loans taken by group-linked companies. He maintained that he had not personally borrowed Rs 22,000 crore from banks and financial institutions.

Chandra separately put the claims of lenders objecting to the resolution plan at around Rs 3,900 crore. He said about RS 620 crore had already been settled, while borrowing entities had offered around Rs 1,100 crore to lenders.

The distinction is significant because the NCLT proceedings concern Chandra's obligations as a personal guarantor, while the underlying loans were raised by companies associated with the Essel Group.

The tribunal's approved resolution plan provides for Chandra to pay about Rs 6.5 crore against admitted claims of Rs 22,006 crore. The proceedings have attracted criticism from lenders over the large gap between the admitted claims and the amount proposed to be paid.

HDFC Bank has indicated that it is exploring a challenge to the NCLT order before the appellate tribunal.

CALLS FOR INDEPENDENT AUDIT

Chandra said an independent audit of the group's borrowing, repayments and outstanding liabilities would help settle the controversy.

He appealed to the banking system, the Finance Ministry and senior banking officials to appoint an independent auditor to examine the group's financial records. "How much was the borrowing when the group first defaulted in the financial market and how much has it paid till now? The truth will become clear," he said.

Chandra said such an exercise would establish how much the group had borrowed when the crisis began and how much had subsequently been repaid.

He also rejected comparisons between him and businessmen accused of misusing the country's financial system, saying he had publicly acknowledged his mistakes and worked to repay the group's obligations.

"I believe that the person to whom money is owed should be paid," he said.

Chandra also disputed reports that he had personally been worth around Rs 45,000 crore when the Essel Group was at its peak. He said the figure had been derived from the market capitalisation or value of group companies and was wrongly portrayed as his personal wealth.

His office has said his total assets stood at Rs 31.79 crore in 2024, including a residential property valued at around Rs 25 crore. It has also said he declared assets worth Rs 39.08 crore in 2016, when he became a Rajya Sabha member.

Chandra questioned how his personal wealth could have risen from around Rs 39 crore in 2016 to Rs 45,000 crore a year later.

He described the Rs 45,000-crore personal wealth figure as a "myth" and said reports had failed to distinguish between the value of the group and his own assets.

'I WILL EARN AGAIN'

Despite the collapse of much of his business empire, Chandra said he had no regrets and intended to rebuild his career. "I will earn again. I am a pioneer," he said, adding that he knew how to build businesses and intended to start again.

Chandra said he was considering working with a friend in Switzerland involved in investments. He also said he was considering borrowing 2-4 crore from family members to invest in startups and other ventures.

"I started with Rs 17," he said, referring to the beginning of his entrepreneurial journey. He claimed his businesses had provided employment to around 8,000 families and said he had paid substantial amounts in interest to the financial system over decades.

Chandra's personal insolvency proceedings have been pending since 2022. While the NCLT-approved plan addresses his liabilities as a personal guarantor, it does not extinguish the underlying obligations of the borrowing companies.

He ended his video message by urging people to verify claims about him circulating on WhatsApp and social media before accepting them as fact.

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