SEBI Tells CG Power To Provide Accused Former Chairman Gautam Thapar With Information Sought From Company

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has told fraud-hit CG Power to provide its accused former Chairman Gautam Thapar and others with the information and e-mails they sought from the company.

The capital market regulator has directed the company to provide the information by December 4. The other noticees who sought information and mails from the company include former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) V R Venkatesh, Madhav Acharya, Avantha Holdings, Acton Global and Solaris Industrial Chemicals.

“The competent authority has directed e-mails referred to in the Vaise Report and in the annexures thereto along with all the other e-mails sent/received by the aforementioned noticees, be provided by the company on or before December 4, 2019,” said the letter.

Previously, the Securities Apellate Tribunal (SAT) also had said that appellants are entitled for the supply of documents from the company to file an appropriate reply to the SEBI.

In his reply to SEBI, former CFO Venkatesh had noted that he did not receive access to documents and records of the company required to give his response to the regulator's questions.

In its communication to CG Power, SEBI also said that its hearing in the matter on December 6 has been postponed and the next date would be intimated later.

The company in August disclosed the findings of its risk and audit committee (RAC), which revealed that the firm and the group together could have under-reported liabilities to the extent of over Rs 3,600 crore in the financial years 2017 and 2018. As per the company, they also understated the loans advanced to related and unrelated parties to the tune of about Rs 7,600 crore during the two financial years.

Thapar, Venkatesh and other CG Power executives Madhav Acharya and B Hariharan were eventually barred from the stock markets and Thapar was also summoned by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which earlier this month, also ordered an investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) into the matter.