The size of corporate fraud in India almost doubled after 2009, and such cases also increased in number, said a report from Thought Arbitrage, a think tank in Delhi.
The plan is to establish a consultative panel and appoint mediators to address various domestic issues, both at the central government and state levels.
The mystery surrounding the alleged fund diversion from Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Zee) by founders Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka has thickened with speculations of an amount multiple times higher than that cited by the ex-parte interim order passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) dated June 12, 2023. While Zee shares witnessed a fresh selloff on Wednesday, news reports of accounting fraud left investors guessing about the hole in the media broadcaster's books. An order by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in October 2023 had clearly hinted that Sebi's investigation had found a deeper rout.
Adani group opened a $1.2 billion copper plant, bought a port in Odisha, raised stakes in a cement company and stitched an alliance with rival Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries, all in a matter of one week in signs that the apples-to-airport conglomerate has shrugged off the Hindenburg effect and is back to rapid expansion spree. In the last one week, Adani group has through regulatory filings and press statements announced expansions and investments in its mainstay ports business, diversification into metal refining, fund infusion into a two-year-old cement foray and continuing progress in the commissioning of its mega solar project.
High net worth investors (HNIs) caught in the Rs 405-crore fraud at Citibank's DLF Phase-II branch in Gurgaon, have recovered their money, with the bank refunding the principal amount, pending investigations.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone will prepay $195 million of debt due in 2024 as the conglomerate helmed by Gautam Adani looks to boost investors' confidence post being targeted by a US short-seller. In a stock exchange filing, APSEZ said it will buy back $195 million of bonds due in 2024 using its cash reserves. Out of the $520 million principal outstanding, $325 million will be left after the buyback, it said.
Billionaire Gautam Adani-led group's renewable energy firm on Thursday announced plans to raise Rs 12,300 crore through a share sale to investors as the group continues to build on a comeback strategy to emerge out of allegations of fraud levelled by a US short-seller. Adani Green Energy Ltd in a stock exchange filing said its board has approved raising up to Rs 12,300 crore through an issue of equity shares by way of qualified institutional placement (QIP). The funds are intended to be used for meeting capital needs of the company's expansion plans.
The measures needed for implementing this new system would start rolling in few weeks, the minister added.
Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company, one of the first high-profile investors in billionaire Gautam Adani's conglomerate, has decided to sell its stake in two Adani companies. In a disclosure, IHC said it has "entered into a definitive agreement with a buyer to dispose of its FDI investment in Adani Green Energy Ltd and Adani Transmission Ltd". It, however, did not name the buyer.
US market regulator Securities and Exchange Commission has charged Countrywide Financial founder Angelo Mozilo and two former executives with securities fraud. Mozilo, who is the former chief executive of financial services entity Countrywide along with David Sambol and Eric Sieracki, have been charged with fraud for misleading investors about the significant credit risk taken by the company.
Investing in special situations can help you tap opportunities that arise during adverse conditions, advises Joydeep Sen.
A large number of NRIs having origins in these states are understood to have been defrauded by many such companies, including the Saradha group.
Following the disclosure of fraud by Raju on January 7, Gupta said the share price of Satyam Computer on the bourses dropped from Rs 188 to Rs 30.70 before closing at Rs 38.40. "It (the share) has been traded at different prices since then," he added. The new board of Satyam, headed by former Nasscom president Kiran Karnik, is trying to ensure 'continuity of business and operations of the company in the interest of its stakeholders', the minister said.
Fraud-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank on Tuesday invited expression of interest (EoI) from potential investors for investment or equity participation in the bank for its reconstruction. Subsequent to commencement of the normal day-to-day operations, it will be open for the investors to convert the bank into a small finance bank by making an application to the RBI, the lender said.
Mandarins of Corporate Affairs Ministry, headed by a young minister, have a busy year ahead, as they would be confronted with over 100 pending cases of probe into suspected frauds overflowing from 2012, and look into overhauling the way companies operate and are regulated.
Securities Exchange Commission, the American market regulator, on Friday charged investment banking major Goldman Sachs with fraud on subprime mortgages, saying that Goldman did not disclose key facts to investors.
Disgraced American businessman Allen Stanford, who bankrolled a $20 million Twenty20 match between England and West Indies before being convicted of defrauding investors, has been sentenced to 110 years in prison.
Facing opposition fire for exit polls allegedly being used for stock market manipulation, Axis My India's chief Pradeep Gupta has said he is open to facing all kinds of investigations and it would help do business in a much better way if the government frames specific regulations for pollsters.
New York prosecutors are poised to file civil fraud charges against Ernst & Young.
Salim Damji, who five years ago had pleaded guilty to cheating a large number of investors to the tune of about $78 million, was this week charged with fraud and forgery.
The problem is with the broking model and what brokers are allowed to do, notes Debashis Basu.
These investors were lured into investing funds on promise of high returns by Puri, the main accused in the Rs 300-crore (Rs 3-billion) scam.
The investigation pertains to a case against Pranav Jewellers, a partnership firm based in Tiruchirapalli, whom the ED raided on November 20 and claimed to have seized "unexplained" cash of Rs 23.70 lakh and some gold jewellery.
A fresh PIL was filed on Thursday in the Supreme Court seeking a probe by multiple central government agencies under the supervision of a panel or a former apex court judge against the Adani Group of companies following allegations of fraud and share price manipulation made by the US-based Hindenburg Research.
With auditing under the scanner and two of the Big Four firms stopping non-audit services for audit clients, auditors will now be subjected to a more stringent standard of reporting.
The net profit of the listed Adani group companies more than doubled year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in the first half of 2023-24 (H1FY24), even as their revenue declined in this period. The nine firms posted a 107.7 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 23,929 crore in April-September compared to the year-ago period. Net sales, on the other hand, were down 14 per cent to Rs 1.49 trillion in H1FY24, data collated by Business Standard showed.
Such tip-offs can be provided through phone using the toll-free number or via email and they will be kept confidential, while anonymous complaints can also be submitted for further probe by the relevant departments of the exchange.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) plans to roll out a new regulatory framework for registrar and transfer agents (RTAs) - the market intermediaries responsible for the record-keeping of bondholders and shareholders after a company offers securities to the public. The markets regulator, sources said, is considering a multifold increase in net-worth requirement, a move that may dissuade companies from having in-house RTAs for record-keeping. At present, the minimum net worth required for RTAs is Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh in categories I and II, respectively.
French energy giant TotalEnergies SE's $300 million investment in clean energy projects of Adani Green Energy Ltd has taken the total investments poured in by global investors in India's largest renewable power producer to $1.63 billion or about Rs 14,000 crore, sources close to the company said. Last week, Total announced it will hold a 50 per cent stake in the new joint venture firm where Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL) will hold the rest. The joint venture will hold a portfolio of 1,050 MW, including 300 MW of already operational capacity, 500 MW under construction and 250 MW under-development assets with a blend of solar and wind power.
The Adani group stocks continued to remain under pressure on Friday, falling up to 20 per cent in morning trade, after the US-based investment research firm Hindenburg Research made damaging allegations. Shares of Adani Total Gas plummeted 19.65 per cent, Adani Transmission tumbled 19 per cent, Adani Green Energy plunged 15.50 per cent and Adani Enterprises tanked 6.19 per cent on the BSE. Also, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone fell 5.31 per cent, Adani Wilmar dipped 5 per cent and Adani Power declined 4.99 per cent.
As many as 267 of 453 companies from the BSE500 index are trading above their consensus price targets, according to the data compiled by Bloomberg. Not all companies in the BSE500 index are tracked by analysts.
"The government has taken several steps to protect interests of investors. The Companies Bill, 2009, which is before the Parliamentary Standing Committee, has allowed Class Action Suit for the first time in the country," corporate affairs minister Salman Khurshid said in the Lok Sabha.
In 1937, a hydrogen-powered German airship flying into New Jersey caught fire and crashed, killing 35 passengers on board. It was sort of a man-made disaster as some 100 people were loaded on to a balloon filled with the most flammable material in the universe. The airship was named Hindenburg. Eight decades later, in 2017, a graduate of international business management from the University of Connecticut founded a "forensic financial research" firm to specialise in spotting wrongdoings and frauds, or what it calls man-made disasters, at companies around the globe and take market bets against them.
'Clients deemed higher-risk are required to update their KYC more frequently.'
With an aim to safeguard the investors from possible frauds involving collective investment schemes, the government has proposed a high-level committee of members from Reserve Bank, Sebi, Corporate Affairs Ministry and Economic Office Wing of state police departments.
Billionaire Gautam Adani-led promoter group has increased its stake in the group's flagship firm as the ports-to-energy conglomerate continues to recover from the effects of a report by US short-seller Hindenburg Research. Promoter group has increased stake in Adani Enterprises Ltd from 67.65 per cent to 69.87 per cent, according to a stock exchange filing. Promoter group firm Kempas Trade and Investment Ltd, which had a minimal stake in the firm, acquired 2.22 per cent in the open market between August 7 and August 18, it said.
Amit Mathur, a resident of Shrewsbury in Massachusetts, was sentenced on May 12 by the Federal District Court in Worcester following his conviction on 18 counts of mail fraud and two counts of wire fraud, the Boston Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.
At the heart of Paytm's slide lies the abject failure of its Super App strategy, notes Indrajit Gupta.
The aggrieved investors of National Spot Exchange (NSEL) have moved the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) against Financial Technologies (FTIL), the listed promoter.
Stricter norms of corporate governance under the Companies Act 2013 as well as increasing application of technology for early detection of frauds through data analysis surveillance and usage of forensic tool are among the other steps taken by the government to prevent fraud by companies, Jaitley said.