Zee Shares Drop Over 6% After CBI Case Against Chandra

Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises fell more than 6% on September 7, closing at ₹85.78, after the Central Bureau of Investigation registered a case against promoter Subhash Chandra and others over an alleged ₹1,322 crore fraud involving loans from LIC Housing Finance. The CBI filed the FIR on August 31 based on a complaint by LIC Housing Finance. The lender alleged that Chandra, along with certain borrower companies and their directors, used false and inflated net-worth certificates to secure two credit facilities in 2018. One was a ₹500 crore loan to Vasant Sagar Properties and Pan India Infraprojects; the other was a ₹480 crore facility to Digital Subscriber Management and Consultancy Services and Spirit Infrapower and Multiventures. Both were backed by Chandra’s personal guarantees. LIC Housing Finance claimed the certificates showed Chandra’s net worth at over ₹59,000 crore in 2017, far higher than the figures he later declared during personal insolvency proceedings. The agency has booked the accused for criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust. The case has added to existing pressures on the stock amid ongoing legal and financial issues linked to the promoter.