Markets regulator SEBI today cracked down on the alleged accounting fraud at imaging and printing equipment maker Ricoh India Ltd. as it called for an audit of its account books and banned seven persons including former top executives from accessing the securities market.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India will appoint an independent audit firm for a detailed forensic audit of the book of accounts of Ricoh India from the financial year 2012-13 onwards, the regulator said in a order published on its website. The costs of the audit will be borne by Ricoh.
The move comes nearly four months after a preliminary report by PwC, based on the deposition of a whistleblower, said that Ricoh India’s books of accounts were being fudged from 2013-14 as opposed to the company’s stance that they were in order during that period. The whistleblower, a former head of finance at Ricoh, had said that the misrepresentation caused a net increase of Rs 199 crore in the next fiscal.
The market watchdog has now directed the company, its directors and the seven people named in the order to extend all necessary co-operation for the audit and furnish all information sought. The independent audit firm, which SEBI will appoint, must submit a report within three months from the date of appointment.
All seven persons named in SEBI’s order have been “restrained from accessing the securities market or buying, selling or otherwise dealing in the securities market in any manner whatsover”.
The seven named in the order are:
- T Takano: Managing director and CEO till 2014-15
- Manoj Kumar: CFO till 2013-14, EVP and CEO in 2014-15, and MD and CEO in 2015-16
- AT Rajan: SCM and Marketing head in 2014-15 and 2015-16
- Arvind Singhal: CFO in 2014-15 and 2015-16
- Anil Saini: ITS business head in till 2014-15, and SVP and COO in 2015-16
- Bibek Chowdhury: Operations Audit Group Head in 2015-16
- Amalendu Mukherjee: MD of Fourth Dimension Solutions Ltd.
The full SEBI order can be seen here . (With Bloomberg Quint)
