IRDAI probes Care Health's stock option issue to Religare chairperson Rashmi Saluja: Report

Rashmi Saluja, executive chairperson of Religare Enterprises (REL), is under the lens of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for receiving stock options in Care Health Insurance. She is the firm’s non-executive chairperson. 

IRDAI revealed that a probe into stock option allotment to Saluja is on in response to a query raised by Rahul Kanoj under the Right to Information Act (RTI) to the insurance regulator, the Economic Times reported.  

Kanoj had filed an RTI query on April 9 with IRDAI. The regulator in its response said Care had sought its approval to grant ESOPs to Saluja on December 31, 2021. It had rejected the request from Care. However, the health insurance company allotted the stock options to Saluja, IRDAI added. 

Care Health had allotted stock options worth Rs 250 crore to Saluja, representing approximately 2.5 percent of the unlisted insurer’s shareholding. Proxy advisory firm InGovern said stock options were issued with an exercise price of Rs 45.32 per share in January 2022, while in the same year, a rights issue of CARE shares was priced at Rs 110 per share, ET reported. 

Earlier, the Burman family, which is the largest shareholder of Religare Enterprises, alleged that 22.7 million options in Care have been illegally issued to Saluja. 

Religare Enterprises owns Care Health. 

Burmans, promoters of Dabur, and Religare’s board led by Saluja are locked in a dispute with both sides accusing each other of violating rules on corporate governance and insider trading. 

Earlier this month, the Burmans made fresh complaints against Saluja about insider trading violations.  
Months after the family accused Saluja of insider trading violations in September 2023, ahead of the open offer announcement, the Burman family complained to the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that Saluja possessed crucial price-sensitive information, not disclosed to the stock exchanges, before she sold 2.71 million shares worth Rs 43 crore between March 26 and 28.  

On October 18, independent directors of Religare wrote a letter to regulators, including the Reserve Bank of India, SEBI, and the insurance watchdog, levelling allegations of fraud and other breaches against the Burmans.