Enforcement Directorate, SFIO lens on Rs 54-bn loans to Usha Martin group

Usha Martin's long-term issuer rating has slipped to IND BB+ and the enterprise placed on "Rating Watch Negative"

Both the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has waded into the ~54-billion loan to the Usha Martin group owed to a consortium of lenders headed by State Bank of India. While the latter has asked the Registrar of Companies to provide a report, the former would examine the case on a reference from the Prime Minister’s Office.

None of the parties to the dispute were willing to confirm the developments, which have pushed another corporate bad loan into a case for the investigative agencies, instead of remaining an outright commercial dispute. Significantly the loans owed