The Supreme Court has closed the 13,000 crore bank fraud case against Sterling Biotech promoters Nitin and Chetan Sandesara after the brothers paid over Rs 5,100 crore and agreed to settle the remaining Rs 8,100 crore, quashing all criminal proceedings against them.
The Sandesara brothers were accused of taking large loans from Indian banks before fleeing the country in 2017, after which they were declared fugitive economic offenders.
During the proceedings, the Sandesara Group paid Rs 3,507 crore directly to the lending consortium, while an additional Rs 1,192 crore was recovered through liquidation. In its compliance order dated December 17, 2025, the Supreme Court recorded a final settlement deposit of Rs 5,111.43 crore, taking the total recovery to around Rs 9,800 crore.
The total outstanding, according to lenders, amounts to over Rs 19,000 crore. However, an FIR filed by the CBI in 2017 pegged the outstanding amount at over Rs 5,300 crore.
The court had observed that continuing criminal proceedings would serve no meaningful purpose in light of the substantial recovery already made.
Banks had moved the Supreme Court seeking release of over Rs 5,000 crore deposited under the settlement covering Sterling Biotech and its group entities, and lenders have since agreed on a formula to distribute the recovered funds.
The ruling, which brings an end to one of India’s most high-profile bank fraud cases, underscored a pragmatic approach which prioritised financial restitution over prolonged criminal litigation.
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