IndiGo parent InterGloble Aviation pays Rs 2.1 crore to settle case with SEBI

InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of low-cost carrier IndiGo, has paid Rs 2.10 crore to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to settle a pending case. The case pertains to alleged corporate governance lapses and listing norms violations that were raised by the company's co-promoter Rakesh Gangwal.

The company has settled the matter "without admitting or denying any violation on its part," by paying a settlement charge of Rs 2.1 crore, as per a SEBI notification issued on Tuesday.

As per the notification, the company, by letter dated January 7, 2021,  proposed to pay little over Rs 2.1 crore "towards full and final settlement of all regulatory, civil or criminal proceedings in relation to the facts contained in the SCN (show cause notice) without admitting or denying any violation on its part."

The case was disposed more than a year after Gangwal alleged corporate governance lapses, including those pertaining to Related Party Transactions (RPTs), between the company and co-promoter Rahul Bhatia-led IGE Group. Differences had emerged between Gangwal and Bhatia in 2019 over certain corporate governance matters; Bhatia camp had rejected the allegations.

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Gangwal had written to SEBI in July 2019 seeking its intervention to address certain issues. G Ramar was appointed as the Adjudicating Officer for the matter on May 5, 2020. Based on its investigation into multiple complaints from Gangwal, SEBI issued a show cause notice to InterGlobe Aviation on November 10, 2020.

Pending adjudication proceedings, InterGlobe Aviation proposed to settle the instant proceedings initiated against it, without admitting or denying the findings of fact and conclusions of law, through a settlement order. The settlement application was filed on December 23, 2020.

In a separate development, IndiGo announced that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Aditya Pande has resigned today, effective February 21, 2021. Subsequently, the board of directors of the company at their meeting held on Tuesday approved the appointment of Jiten Chopra as the CFO of the company with effect from February 22, 2021.

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Jiten joined the company as head of governance, risk and compliance in February 2020. Prior to joining IndiGo, Jiten had about 25 years of working experience in audit, business development, operations and transaction services.

"Having joined KPMG in 1995, Jiten was their Senior Partner, COO Audit & Member of Audit Executive team. His role as a Senior Partner included managing large client relationship along with executing audit assignments to ensure high quality of delivery, identifying business opportunities and growing the accounts for the firm," the company said.

Meanwhile, shares of InterGloble Aviation closed Tuesday's trade at Rs 1,661.55, down 2.03 per cent, on the BSE.

With PTI inputs