Popular news anchor and founder-CEO of the TV9 television channel, Velcheti Ravi Prakash, said on Wednesday that he was prepared to challenge the legal notice served on him by Euro Exim Bank, a prominent international bank, for a Rs 100 crore lawsuit.
“Euro Exim Bank, an unlawful entity in India, has filed a Rs 100 crore lawsuit against me and RTV. This foreign company, which has no authorization in India, is issuing thousands of crores in fraudulent bank guarantees and laundering money on a large scale,” Ravi Prakash stated in a post on his social media handle.
He declared that he knew how to protect the country's sovereignty and expose external financial scammers.
In July, Euro Exim Bank, headquartered in St. Lucia with a representative office in London, issued a legal notice to Ravi Prakash, who now heads the RTV Telugu news channel.
The bank demanded an immediate public apology, the removal of defamatory content aired on the channel concerning Megha Engineering, a valued client of Euro Exim Bank, and Rs 100 crore in damages.
The legal notice was issued in response to a broadcast aired on July 14, 2024, which the bank alleges contained false and damaging statements.
The broadcast, titled “Mega Scam 2024,” accused Euro Exim Bank of being a fraudulent financial institution and of issuing fake bank guarantees.
The bank refuted these allegations, stating that Euro Exim Bank is a legally licensed Class X international bank under the laws of St. Lucia and is fully compliant with all regulatory requirements.
According to the notice, the broadcast inaccurately portrayed the bank’s net worth as Rs 8 crore, while the actual net worth, as per financial records for the fiscal year 2023-24, exceeds Rs 1900 crore. This misrepresentation was cited as a deliberate attempt to tarnish the bank’s reputation, the legal notice stated.
The notice also mentioned that the broadcast suggested the bank collected fees through illicit means such as ‘hawala’ transactions.
The legal notice clarifies that all fees are collected via legitimate bank transfers, strictly adhering to legal and regulatory standards.
