After Cairn, Devas seeks to seize Air India’s assets abroad

Along with Britain’s Cairn Energy PLC (Public Limited Company), the company seeking more than $1.2 billion it had won in an international arbitration from India, Devas Multimedia Pvt. Ltd., is seeking to seize Air India Ltd.’s overseas assets.

Devas Mutimedia has filed a petition in New York demanding state-owned Air India to pay the amount or forfeit its US property which includes of planes, cargo handling equipment as well as artwork. Additionally, it has called the flagship airline an “alter ego” of the Indian state and hence, liable for the sovereign’s debts.

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In 2020, India had to experience two huge losses in international arbitrations namely the tax dispute with Vodafone Group PLC of $3 billion and $1.2 billion dispute with Cairn Energy PLC.

While India has challenged both rulings, the current move by Devas can prove to be threatening to the country’s much-delayed plans of selling the indebted loss-making carrier and risks weakening India’s investment destination image.

As reported by Bloomberg News, around the time of petition filed by Cairn in the month of May, Indian authorities had asked government-owned banks to protect their dollar deposits as these could be at a risk of seizure too.

The Centre and Devas Multimedia are involved in multiple cases all across the globe where Devas seeks the award money but India wants to liquidate the company along with investigating an alleged fraud.