BARELY three months before IL&FS Group companies ran into trouble with the first default on August 28,2018, SRBC & Co LLC (an arm of Ernst and Young), auditor to IL&FS Transportation Networks India Limited (ITNL), decided to exclude notes on the company's ability to continue operations indefinitely, which in accounting language is referred to as a going concern principle. According to the Grant Thornton forensic audit report, SRBC & Co LLC had earlier taken a decision to make such qualifications in its audit report for 2017-18. But following a meeting with IL&FS and ITNL management, it did not include this in the Emphasis of Matter (EoM) paragraph. If an auditor decides it is important to draw the attention of the readers of financial statements to a particular item, it points out the issue in an EoM paragraph in the audit report.

In the last week of May, the National Company Law Tribunal approved the sale of once-upon-a-time infrastructure development catalyst Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services' (IL&FS') stake in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Ltd, popularly known as Gift City, to the Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd, a state enterprise. IL&FS, a so-called core investment company with its finger in every single pie of business spread over 347 companies in India and overseas, holds a 50 per cent stake in Gift City — India's first operational smart city and international financial services centre in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In 2007, IL&FS had entered into an agreement with the Gujarat government to develop an international financial services city (IFSC). The agreement had an exit clause.

Debt-laden IL&FS on Monday said it has completed the sale of its 50 per cent stake in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) to the Gujarat government, generating over Rs 32 crore for its equity value and also reducing its consolidated debt by more than Rs 1,200 crore. The stake in GIFT City was bought by Gujarat Urban Development Company Ltd (GUDCL), on behalf of the Gujarat government.

IL&FS Limited has completed the sale of its 50% stake in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Company Limited (GIFTCL) to the Government of Gujarat (GOG) represented by Governor of State of Gujarat / Gujarat Urban Development Company Limited (GUDCL). The sale was completed pursuant to the approval granted by the Hon. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Principal Bench vide order dated May 22, 2020.

IL&FS TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS, a group company of the troubled IL&FS Group, on Friday reported a standalone loss of Rs 17,000.32 crore for fiscal year 2019-20, amid Covid-19 disruptions. The company had clocked a standalone profit of Rs 251.76 crore during the fiscal 2018-19, it said in a regulatory filing.

The Forensic Report by Grant Thornton India on the books of accounts of lL&FS Transportation Networks India Limited (ITNL) reveals that its auditor — Deloitte Haskins and Sells — assisted the company to tweak the language of the Letter of Assurances (LOAs) issued by the company in a bid to avoid disclosure of contingent liability in its financial statements and then failed to flag the same in its audit reports. ITNL is a group company of financial firm IL&FS. The issue relates to LOA/Letter of Comfort (LOC) issued by ITNL in order to help borrowing at the special purpose vehicle (SPV) level for projects facing cost over¬runs or that required bridge funding. The Grant Thornton report, seen by The Indian Express, shows that there are at least 19 instances where ITNL issued LOA/LOC for loans sanctioned by group company IL&FS Financial Services (in 16 instances) and other financiers (3 instances) — aggregating to over Rs 2,700 crore — to various external parties who were also vendors of ITNL.

IL&FS Group has undertaken a top fleck reshuffle after its chief operating officer N Sivaraman, who was leading the asset-monetlsation programme for the beleaguered group, put in his papers. Three executives will now lead the asset monetisation and InvIT (Infrastructure Investment Trusts) programme as the group, which saw the government take charge a little under two years ago, races against time to sell assets to realise as much value as possible. At last count, the government was hoping to raise around Rs 55,000 crore to repay a debt of nearly Rs 94,000 crore. While the estimate was pre-lockdown, some of the assets may now see more muted Interest, given that a few of the bidders themselves are facing financial distress.

VETERAN banker Uday Kotak, managing director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited has assumed office as the president of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2020-21, the chamber said Wednesday. Kotak takes over from Vikram Kirloskar, chairman and managing director of Kirloskar Systems Ltd and vice chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

An audit report has revealed that IL&FS Transportation Networks India did not disclose as 'contingent liabilities' loans amounting to Rs 2,570.50 crore sanctioned by sister concern IL&FS Financial Services — despite providing assurance letters — to avoid rating downgrade. These loans Issued to third parties, who were also vendors to ITNL, didn't follow required standard operating procedures (SOPs), or any formal policy or protocol regarding approval from the board of directors or committee of disputes (COD)—Increasing the risk exposure of the company, it said. ET has seen a copy of the Grant Thornton India report.

The previous management of debt-laden Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) surreptitiously attempted to hide the dire financial condition of the company, conceal cash flow stress and mislead regulators into adopting a restructuring plan, according to a forensic report reviewed by Moneycontrol. The audit findings by consultancy Grant Thornton (GT) reveal that the management knew about the financial challenges that the group was facing since 2016 and it had also discussed with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to make necessary regulatory amendments to facilitate fundraising at the holding company level.