Mirach to sue Sahara for $400 mn on defamation grounds

Amid allegations and counter-allegations between jailed Sahara Group chief Subrata Roy and the US-based Mirach Capital which was supposed to act for Sahara in selling some of its overseas properties, Mirach said on Monday that it plans to sue Sahara for $400 million for defamation resulting from Sahara's statements.

Sahara had accused Mirach of "cheating and forgery" in the deal in which Mirach was supposed to help the Roy's company sell its three international hotels in order to raise Rs10,000 crore – the highest bail bond ever demanded by India's Supreme Court.

Sahara also claimed that the Mirach group was being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mirach on the other hand claimed that Sahara was not genuinely interested in selling the hotels.

Mirach accused the Indian company of trying to discredit its chief executive Saransh Sharma and said Sahara's actions had caused "loss of income, shaken investor confidence, and caused personal injury".

Mirach has said that it intends to place liens against the properties included in the deal, and that it will apply for injunction against any transaction that Sahara might engage in with respect to the three hotels - Grosvenor House in London and New York Plaza and Dream Downtown in New York.