Mumbai: Capital markets regulator SEBI on Friday imposed penalties exceeding Rs 29 crore on Suzlon Energy Limited and several of its former key officials in connection with alleged irregularities linked to the transfer of the company’s operation and maintenance services (OMS) business, financial statement misstatements and related party transactions.
In its order, SEBI levied a penalty of Rs 15.95 crore on Suzlon Energy Limited. The regulator also imposed penalties on former executive vice-chairman Vinod R. Tanti, Girish R. Tanti, former chief financial officer Kirti J. Vagadia and Amit Agarwal.
Vinod R. Tanti was fined Rs 5.75 crore, Girish R. Tanti Rs 5.45 crore, Kirti J. Vagadia Rs 1.5 crore and Amit Agarwal Rs 30 lakh.
The case stems from an anonymous complaint received on December 12, 2019, which was referred to the National Stock Exchange for a preliminary examination.
The review flagged concerns related to investments, loans, impairment, related party disclosures and possible violations of the SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) Regulations, 2003, and the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations, 2015.
SEBI subsequently launched a detailed investigation covering the period from FY2014–15 to FY2019–20 and the first three quarters of FY2020–21.
The investigation was supported by a forensic audit conducted by Sarath & Associates.
According to the regulator, the adjudication proceedings centred around the March 29, 2014 slump sale of Suzlon Energy’s OMS business to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Suzlon Global Services Limited (SGSL), for Rs 2,000 crore, despite the stated value of the business being Rs 77.08 crore.
The company booked a gain of Rs 1,922.92 crore under exceptional items in FY2013–14 following the transaction.
SEBI observed that Rs 1,300 crore of the sale consideration was not received within the stipulated 90-day period and was allegedly routed through circular transactions between March 21 and March 23, 2017, involving repeated movement of funds through the bank accounts of Suzlon Energy Ltd and Suzlon Global Services Ltd.
The regulator further noted that SGSL’s asset base expanded sharply after the OMS transfer, even though its earlier financial statements reflected minimal operations.
It also highlighted that a subsequent stake sale of SGSL to Suzlon Structures Ltd in FY2015–16 for Rs 927.83 crore generated another gain of Rs 829.78 crore.
(IANS)
