Infosys gives Vishal Sikka a clean chit in $200 million Panaya acquisition deal

The Infosys board headed by chairman Nandan Nilekani on Tuesday gave a clean chit to the controversial $200 million Panaya acquisition, which took place when Vishal Sikka was CEO, saying there was no merit in the allegations of wrongdoing. "After careful consideration led by our Chairman, the Board reaffirms the previous findings of external investigations that there is no merit to the allegations of wrongdoing," Infosys said in a statement.

In the eye of storm over its founders led by Narayana Murthy alleging corporate governance lapses and questioning high severance packages to former key officials, Infosys on Tuesday reported its second quarter financial results. This was Infosys' first earnings announcement after Nilekani took over the reins of Infosys after the ouster Vishal Sikka as CEO amid a bitter war of words between the management and thefounders.

Giving a detailed outline of the review undertaken on Panaya issue, Nilekani said: "In light of my review of these matters, I am fully persuaded, as is the entire Board, that the conclusions of the independent investigations are correct." Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy had demanded that the full report by Gibson, Dunn and Crutcher on whistleblower allegations pertaining to the Panaya deal, be made public.

Nilakeni rejected the demand for publishing the full investigation report, which he said could impair cooperation. Emphasising that confidentiality was key to ensuring the cooperation of whistleblowers and other participants in any investigative process, the company cautioned that the precedent of releasing the full investigation reports could impair the cooperation of participants in case the need arises in future. Infosys net profit grew 3.32 per cent to Rs. 3,726 crore during the second quarter of 2017-18, while revenues grew nearly 1.5 per cent.