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Informist, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026

NEW DELHI – The Delhi bench of the National Company Law Tribunal has recalled its order to start insolvency proceedings against Alchemist Ltd. as the process was marred by fraud, collusion, and malicious intent. The committee of creditors of Alchemist is dominated by Alchemist Group entities, which were recipients, conduits, or beneficiaries of proceeds of crime arising out of large-scale cheating and fraudulent mobilisation of public funds, and were facing prosecution and attachment proceedings under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, said the tribunal.

Alchemist, which is in receipt of proceeds of crime of INR 6.85 billion, is the corporate debtor in the instant matter before the tribunal, and Technology Parks Ltd., which siphoned the proceeds of crime to the company, is the biggest financial creditor with 97% voting rights in the matter, the Enforcement Directorate had alleged. Further, the claims which have been approved by tribunal, majority of claims will be settled against the group companies of Alchemist Group only, said the agency.

The Enforcement Directorate has placed extensive material showing that funds collected from the public by Alchemist Group entities were layered through intercorporate transactions and ultimately routed to Alchemist, said the tribunal. Substantial assets corresponding to these funds have already been attached under the money laundering law, with two attachment orders having attained confirmation, said the tribunal.

If the corporate insolvency resolution process were permitted to culminate in a resolution plan driven by the same group entities, it would result in legitimisation of claims arising out of tainted transactions, reintegration of proceeds of crime into the financial system, dilution or frustration of attachment and confiscation proceedings and potential invocation of Section 32A of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 for immunity in a manner never contemplated by the legislature, said the tribunal. The insolvency process cannot be allowed to be converted into a laundering mechanism cloaked in statutory legitimacy, it said.

While the tribunal does not adjudicate upon criminal liability or attachment under the money laundering law, it must also ensure that its orders do not render its proceedings nugatory, it said. The moratorium under Section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 and the overriding effect under Section 238 do not grant a license to launder proceeds of crime or to reclaim attached assets through insolvency proceedings, said the tribunal. "In the present case, the material suggests that the CIRP (corporate insolvency resolution process) itself has been initiated and steered in a manner that directly undermines ongoing PMLA proceedings. Such a situation obligates this tribunal to step in to prevent abuse of its process," said the tribunal.

The allegations regarding the resolution professional's past association with the Alchemist Group, the overwhelming control of the committee of creditors by accused group entities, and the delays in impleading the Enforcement Directorate in the case despite express directions of this adjudicating authority, cumulatively raise serious concerns regarding the perception of independence and fairness of the resolution process, said the tribunal. It is satisfied that the insolvency process has not been initiated or conducted for the genuine purpose of insolvency resolution, said the tribunal.

In 2022, the tribunal had admitted an application by Sai Tech Medicare Pvt. Ltd. to start insolvency proceedings against Alchemist. According to the probe agency, it had initiated an investigation against Alchemist under the provisions of money laundering law based upon the first information reports registered by the Kolkata Police and Uttar Pradesh Police. The probe revealed that Alchemist Holdings Ltd. and Alchemist Township India Ltd. had collected more than INR 18.40 billion from the general public on the pretext of offering high returns, plots, villas, flats to the investors, but neither of these were provided nor the money was refunded to the investors. The funds were diverted by the related entities of the group such as Technology Parks Ltd. to other group companies of Alchemist Group including Alchemist on the pretext of providing inter-corporate loans, said the agency.  End

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Ashish Shirke

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