In a filing with the stock exchanges on November 2, I-T major Infosys, which was rocked by allegations of malpractice and fraud, said that there was no prima facie evidence that was given to them to back up the allegations.
“With respect to the Anonymous Complaints, there is no prima facie evidence that the Company has received until date to corroborate any of the allegations made. In any event, the Audit Committee retained the services of the law firm, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. to investigate the matter,” Infosys said in its filing.
The company said that apart from the complaints, it has not received any evidence to back them up.
A few anonymous employees at Infosys accused the CEO Salil Parekh and CFO Nilanjan Roy of unethical practices for many quarters, along with concerns on Parekh's travels to the US and Mumbai.
Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani later informed that one Board member received two anonymous complaints on September 30, 2019. One of them was dated September 20, 2019, and a second one was undated. He added that these complaints were placed before the Audit Committee on October 10, 2019, and before the non-executive members of the Board on October 11, 2019.
According to the whistleblowers, Parekh directed the employees to cook account books to show favourable numbers and coerced staffers not to reveal crucial data to board members.
Infosys also cited the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and said that unless an event or any information is deemed to be “'material' that is under the LODR Regulations, it had no obligation to disclose the same under Regulation 30 of the LODR Regulations.
"The Anonymous Complaints do not fall within the purview of deemed material events under the LODR Regulations," Infosys said.
"Further, given the circumstances at this stage, where there is complete absence of prima facie evidence and the Anonymous Complaints are still under investigation, the Company is not in a position to determine the concreteness, credibility and materiality of the anonymous complaints. In light of the above, no disclosure under Regulation 30 of the LODR Regulations is required to be made,” the company further added.
Infosys said that the stock exchanges would be updated on the findings of the investigation reports.
