IDBI Bank moves to tag liquidated Ushdev International as fraud; show-cause notice comes back unserved

IDBI Bank has started proceedings to classify Ushdev International Ltd, a metals trader now in liquidation, as a fraud account. Its show-cause notice to the company could not be delivered, so the bank published it in a newspaper on Thursday.

The public notice was signed by Arun Kumar Verma, deputy general manager of IDBI’s NPA Management Group at its Cuffe Parade headquarters. It ran in Business Standard’s Mumbai edition on November 5. According to the notice, IDBI began the proceedings under the RBI (Commercial Banks – Fraud Risk Management) Directions, 2026, dated July 31, 2026. It issued a show-cause notice dated October 21, 2026, and that notice “has been returned/unserved.”

The notice was addressed to “M/s Ushdev International Ltd, Corporate Debtor through Liquidator” at New Harileela House, Mint Road, Fort, Mumbai. It said the liquidator may collect the undelivered notice in person, or through an authorised representative, at IDBI’s office. It did not say how much Ushdev owes IDBI or give a deadline for a reply.

Banks have had to hear borrowers before tagging an account as fraud since the Supreme Court’s March 2023 ruling in State Bank of India vs Rajesh Agarwal. The court held that classifying an account as fraud has serious civil consequences, so borrowers must get a show-cause notice and a chance to respond. When a notice cannot be delivered, a bank typically publishes it so it can show it complied.

Ushdev traded in ferrous metals and generated wind power. It was admitted to the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) on May 17, 2018, in one of the longer-running cases under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

In November 2019 the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved a resolution plan from Singapore-based Taguda Pte Ltd. The plan never went through: Taguda repeatedly failed to deposit the funds it had committed. The lenders, led by State Bank of India, invoked an ₹18.13-crore bank guarantee.

The Mumbai bench of the NCLT ordered liquidation on October 16, 2025. In July 2026 the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) dismissed Taguda’s challenge to that order and imposed costs of ₹5 lakh. The NCLAT also rejected Taguda’s offer to pay ₹227 crore at once, calling it a delaying tactic.

In July 2026 the liquidator put assets with a combined reserve price of ₹149.05 crore up for e-auction. They included the company’s offices at New Harileela House, wind turbines in four states, and a stake in Uttam Galva Ferrous Ltd.

Investigative agencies have been examining the company separately. In July 2022 the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a case over alleged losses of about ₹1,438 crore to an SBI-led consortium. It named the company and directors Prateek Vijay Gupta and Suman Vijay Gupta. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) says the company used forged trade documents to obtain cash credit, letters of credit and buyers’ credit. In February 2026 it said it had provisionally attached assets worth ₹176.37 crore in total.

Public reports of the CBI case do not list IDBI Bank as a member of the SBI-led consortium.

Also Read: Ushdev International returns to auction desk with ₹132-crore asset pool; Uttam Galva Ferrous stake is three-fourths of the block