Prime accused in the PMC Bank fraud, Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, who are promoters of real estate group HDIL, have requested the RBI and investigation agencies to sell off their assets, including a yacht, a Rolls Royce and an aircraft, to pay off the bank’s dues.

The Wadhawans, who were remanded in judicial custody by a court on Wednesday, in a letter to the Enforcement Directorate, the Union finance ministry and the RBI, requested that they be allowed to sell off 18 of their attached assets. The letter was released by a spokesperson of the Wadhawans. According to the Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing, which first arrested the Wadhawans, the scam at the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank is worth Rs 4,355 crore.

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“We state that while denying the allegations raised in FIR number 86/ 2019…solely with the purpose to work towards the resolution of the matter in the interest of depositors which was also communicated with our earlier letters dated September 30, 2019, October 1, 2019 and October 3, 2019 sent to (ministry of Finance, Reserve bank of India), we request you to immediately take steps to sell the assets mentioned below… and adjust it towards the principal of the loans taken by the respective companies which own the assets…,” the letter signed by the arrested father and son duo read.

The assets listed in the letter include ultra-luxury cars such as a Rolls Royce Phantom, Bentley Continental, a BMW 730 LD, as well as a humble Ambassador, owned by Rakesh Wadhawan.

It also lists assets owned by Sarang, Rakesh’s son, including a Falcon 2000 Aircraft, Audi AG, a FerrttiYacht 881, two electric cars, three Quad Bikes (ATV) and speed boat (Dolphin super deluxe 31HT, 7 seater). “It is in the larger public interest that the assets are disposed of so as to mitigate the present situation,” said the letter.

According to the EOW, the management of the PMC Bank, in cahoots with the Wadhawans, concealed from the banking regulators’ scrutiny huge loan defaults by HDIL group firms. Over 70 per cent of the bank’s advances went to HDIL group, which led to a huge crisis when the group defaulted on repayment.

Distressed depositors of the bank, which has deposits of over Rs 11,000 crore, have been protesting across Mumbai and also forced Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to meet them last week when she was out to address a pre-election media conference here.

Four people, including promoters of realty firm HDIL to which the bank made the sour loans, and the lender’s former chairman and ex-managing director have so far been arrested in connection with the alleged Rs 4,355 crore scam.