Mumbai, April 1: Former vice chairman of the debt-laden Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), Hari Sankaran, was arrested by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) on Monday. The agency produced Sankaran before a Mumbai court which granted his custody till April 4, an official privy to the case confirmed.

Reports said Sankaran has been arrested on the grounds of abusing his powers in IL&FS Financial Services Ltd through fraudulent conduct and in granting loans to entities that were not credit-worthy or were declared as non-performing accounts. Such actions caused wrongful loss to the company and its creditors, they added. Rahul Gandhi Fires Fresh Salvo at Narendra Modi, Says IL&FS Means 'I Love Financial Scams' For PM.

IL&FS Financial Services had borrowings of more than Rs 17,000 crore through debt instruments and bank loans. Provident funds, pension funds, gratuity funds, mutual funds, public and private sector banks, are among those who have invested in these debt instruments, the sources said.

The alleged financial irregularities at the IL&FS came to light last year after some group entities defaulted on debt repayments. The government, which superseded the company's board, is working on a resolution plan.

The government takeover was aimed at rescuing the life-long savings of lakhs of depositors who had invested in the bonds of IL&FS.

(With PTI inputs)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 01, 2019 11:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).