First read is on us.

Subscribe today to keep up with the latest travel industry news.

India's Sahara Group being investigated on its high profile hotel buys in UK & US


Skift Take

For now, this investigation is for Sahara's UK deal, but likely will extend to its acquisition of New York's iconic Plaza Hotel as well. That will surely put a dampener on any new Sahara hotel deals going ahead.

In December 2010, Sahara bought the iconic hotel Grosvenor House, in London's Mayfair area for £470 million. Sahara's announcement led India's Enforcement Directorate, which was already looking into various deals of controversial group, to trace the money flow behind financing the acquisition.

The agency...suspects that Sahara routed funds in a way so as to avoid taking the permission of the Reserve Bank of India, which has the last word on cross-border flows. It is investigating whether the transactions, particularly the fund remittance under the automatic route, have been in violation of foreign exchange regulations.

Up Next

Hotels

How Data Quality Issues Impact Global Hospitality Operations

There are wide discrepancies in data quality for hotel transactions across global regions, with the largest occurring in Asia-Pacific. Because hotels and agencies need to harness data quality to thrive, they must take a more nuanced regional approach to monitoring potential issues.
Sponsored
Tourism

Religious Tourism: The Indian Travel Industry’s Next Big Bet

The money from the pockets of Indian devotees is overflowing from the donation boxes in temples and spilling onto the travel industry. Hotels, airlines, and travel agencies are all placing their faith in the business of religion.