'Abhay hasn't done anything': Adar on insider trading charges against ex-MD of Poonawalla Fincorp

Poonawalla Fincorp Limited Chairman Adar Poonawalla, during the investor call held on September 18, said the company is doing an independent probe into recent events that led to the exit of MD Abhay Bhutada. He said Abhay will also be "clear of what he's done, because he hasn't done anything, as far as the lawyers and others (who have) given him the reports".

He said Abhay had stepped down as per corporate governance standards. Also, this event does not have anything on the company and it’s going to be business as usual, he added.

Bhutada had resigned from the company on September 16. The announcement regarding Bhutada's resignation came just a day after he, along with seven others, was barred from the securities markets by SEBI for alleged "insider trading".

Poonawalla Fincorp's board on September 16 accepted Bhutada's resignation, and he ceased to be a director and key managerial personnel in the company. The market regulator barred him and seven others from buying, selling or dealing in securities, either directly or indirectly until further orders. It also impounded their bank accounts to the extent of their respective liability worth over Rs 13 crore.

Bhutada, in his letter to the board members, denied all the allegations mentioned against him in the SEBI order. Meanwhile, Poonawalla said his reasons for venturing into the financial services segment are two-fold -- firstly to address the credit gap and secondly to do something for the masses.

"We are in volume business and so the retail lending was the choice. We did it in a step wise manner first with a privately-owned company and then moving to  a listed company," said Poonawalla, who's also the CEO of the world's biggest vaccine maker Serum Institute of India.

A few months back, Kolkata-based Magma Fincorp was renamed Poonawalla Fincorp after it was acquired by the Poonawalla Group. Meanwhile, shares of Poonawalla Fincorp closed at Rs 167.65, down 4.99 per cent or Rs 8.8, from the previous close on the NSE.

Also read: Poonawalla Fincorp MD Abhay Bhutada steps down a day after SEBI order on insider trading