Troubled infrastructure developer and lender Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services is close to hiring Grant Thornton to investigate alleged irregularities in its operations.

After the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) refused to allow banks to defer provisioning for IL&FS-related loans, lenders have now approached the Finance Ministry's department of financial services to exert pressure on the central bank.

IL&FS Investment Managers has drawn interest from Edelweiss, India Infoline and Altico Capital, an industry source close to the development said.

In a bid to end the crisis facing IL&FS employees in Ethiopia, the World Bank has asked the Ethiopian Roads Authority to look for a resolution at the earliest. The project, being executed by an IL&FS joint venture in Ethiopia, is funded by the World Bank.

After spending 50 days in captivity, Chaitanya Hari, an engineer with IL&FS Transportation Network Ltd (ITNL) in Ethiopia, was hoping to be released on Tuesday to be home in time for his sister’s wedding next week.

Two subsidiaries of IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd (ITNL) have decided to stop debt repayments and have sought refunds of debt repaid after 15 October, India Ratings said Tuesday, warning such action would lead to a default rating and threaten infrastructure project finance using special purpose vehicles.

Provident and pension funds of thousands of middle-class salaried people face the spectre of losing thousands of crores of their nest egg as analysts estimate these funds’ investments in Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services and group companies to be between Rs. 15,000 to Rs 20,000 crore, said three people familiar with the matter.

The Union government is set to invite tenders for a third time for its ambitious Zojila tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir as crisis-hit Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has surrendered the Rs 6,809-crore contract it bagged in 2017.

Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services, which is selling assets to repay debt of about Rs 91,000 crore ($13 billion), won’t provide indemnity and warranties to potential buyers, a move that will drive down valuations steeply, said three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) on Wednesday said it has received enquiries from over 30 bidders for the asset monetisation process for the domestic roads vertical — worth over Rs 25,000 crore — housed under its subsidiary IL&FS Transportation Networks Ltd.