The Mumbai Police has registered an FIR against three senior officials from Religare Enterprises Ltd., including Executive Chairperson Rashmi Saluja, Group CFO Nitin Aggarwal, and Group General Counsel Nishant Singhal.
The FIR mentions offences of serious financial misconduct, as per an exchange filing. All three officials have denied the allegations. The financial impact of the FIR on Religare Enterprises is currently unquantifiable.
Previously, the Securities Appellate Tribunal had instructed Religare to comply with a SEBI directive, facilitating the way for the Burman family's increased stake in the financial services firm. The Burman family, prominent for their role in Dabur India, had been looking to raise their stake to nearly 25% through an acquisition of 1.73 crore shares at up to Rs 235 per share.
However, the SAT had also stayed a show cause notice previously issued to Religare, providing some relief to the company. This decision follows a SEBI order from June 19, which mandated Religare to apply for necessary approvals from regulatory bodies, including the RBI, by July 12, to facilitate the Burman family's open offer.
Religare had sought to challenge this directive by filing an appeal with SAT while simultaneously requesting a forensic investigation into the Burman Group's acquisition process through a writ petition to the Delhi High Court. The company's concerns focus on whether the Burman Group met the "fit and proper" criteria for the acquisition.
SEBI had initially noted that the Burman family had publicly announced their intention to acquire shares on Sept. 25, 2023. Despite ongoing efforts to secure regulatory approvals from Religare, the necessary cooperation has not been provided.
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