Sebi uncovers $241 million accounting issue at Zee
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., dealing another blow to the embattled media firm less than a month after its merger with Sony Group Corp’s local unit collapsed.
As part of its investigation into the Zee founders, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, found that about 20 billion rupees ($241 million) may have been diverted from the company, said people familiar with the matter who did not want to be identified as the information is not public yet. That’s roughly ten times more than initially estimated by Sebi investigators, the people said.
The amount found missing is not final and may change after Sebi reviews the responses from the company executives, the people said. The regulator has been calling in senior officials at Zee including founders, Subhash Chandra, his son Punit Goenka and some board members to explain their stance, they added.
A Sebi representative didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comments. A Zee spokesperson declined to comment on the fund diversion but said in an email that the company “has been in the process of providing all the comments, information or explanation requested” by the markets regulator in the ongoing probe.
Sebi’s latest findings add to Goenka’s woes, as the Zee CEO tries to reassure investors after its $10 billion merger plan with Sony fell apart. The transaction, two years in the making, was terminated in January after a months-long stalemate on who’ll lead the new entity.
Zee, Sony huddle in dramatic twist to salvage
Read more on economictimes.indiatimes.com
