Sebi imposes nearly ₹29 crore penalty on Suzlon Energy, four others
I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.Sebi imposed a nearly ₹29 crore penalty on Suzlon Energy and its top executives, including Vinod and Girish Tanti, for misleading financial disclosures. The regulator found that the company misrepresented its net worth, profitability, and risk profile by omitting significant contingent liabilities related to a subsidiary loan. Sebi emphasized that directors cannot evade liability for such serious violations in listed entities' financial reporting.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday imposed a total penalty of nearly ₹29 crore on Suzlon Energy, the group’s chairman and managing director Vinod Tanti, executive vice-chairman Girish Tanti, and two others for alleged lapses in disclosures of SEL’s financial statements.
Sebi has alleged that the financial statements and disclosures disseminated by SEL did not reflect the true substance of the transactions and resulted in a misleading presentation of its profitability, net worth, leverage, financial exposure, and risk profile.
The market regulator imposed a penalty of ₹15.95 crore on SEL, and ₹5.75 crore and ₹5.45 crore on Vinod Tanti and Girish Tanti, respectively.
The matter pertains to the transfer of Operation & Maintenance Business (OMS) by SEL to Suzlon Global Services (SGSL) for ₹2,000 crore in FY14 and recognition of profit of ₹1,923 crore, leading to a presentation that SEL’s net worth was ₹2,664 crore instead of ₹741 crore.
Another issue raised in the order is on contingent liabilities with respect to a stand-by letter of credit issued (SBLC) by SBI, which was used to secure a loan for AE Rotor Holding BV (AERH), a wholly owned subsidiary of the company.
“SBLC exposure of $569.40 million, equivalent to approximately ₹4,050 crore, was reclassified as an insurance contract under Ind AS 104 and omitted from the designated contingent liability note in FY 2017-18, resulting in materially diluted presentation of SEL’s financial exposure,” noted Sebi.
The probe in the matter was initiated after an anonymous complaint in December 2019 against the firm, alleging irregularities in dealings with subsidiaries and associate companies.
“The violations established in this order are serious in nature as they relate to financial statements and disclosures of a listed entity, which constitute the basis on which investors and market participants assess the financial position and prospects of such entity,” noted Sebi whole-time member Sandip Pradhan in the order.
As the Tantis were non-executive directors, it was submitted to Sebi that they could not be held liable for the alleged acts of the company.
“Persons occupying executive, managerial or finance positions in a listed company cannot evade liability merely because the disclosures were made by the company. Also, the directors are the custodians of the company and are responsible for monitoring the activities of the company,” the order noted.
The order added that the role of key officials is not limited to merely attending meetings, and they cannot escape liability.