MCA asks Sebi to share details on Zee, could summon Puneet Goenka
Corporate Affairs (MCA), which is investigating Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) over alleged corporate governance violations, has written to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) seeking details on its latest findings on fund diversion that have been cited in media reports, said people aware of the matter.
The ministry's preliminary probe had found appropriation of ZEEL's fixed deposits (FDs) by Yes Bank, for squaring off loans of related entities of Essel Group. ZEEL is part of the Essel Group promoted by Subhash Chandra and his family.
Since 2019, both the MCA and Sebi have been investigating the group over allegations levelled by independent directors. While the MCA is probing allegations pertaining to violations under the Companies Act, 2013, Sebi is investigating accusations of capital market breaches. Their probes had found that FDs of Rs 200 crore were appropriated by Yes Bank for settling loans of related parties of Essel Group.
«However, now with reports that Sebi has found an accounting issue of over Rs 2,000 crore ($241 million), details of their findings have been sought,» said a senior government official. «The same would be studied to investigate if there was indeed a fund diversion, which is 10 times more than what was initially suspected.»
MCA lens on fund diversion by brass
The official said that during the course of the ongoing probe, «if need be, even Puneet Goenka could be summoned to join the investigation».
ZEEL CEO Goenka is Chandra's son. The person added that the
