Mumbai: The drive to tackle fraud is escalating every day and this has pushed the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for seamless sharing of data filed by corporates.
This will involve linkage between the two authorities and regular exchange of data, said Sebi in a press statement issued on Friday.
The data sharing will involve sharing of specific information such as details of suspended companies, delisted companies, shareholding pattern from Sebi and financial statements filed with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) by corporates, returns of allotment of shares and audit reports relating to companies.
Now the exchange of information will be digital and near real time with system to system connect, which was perhaps missing in the earlier data sharing arrangement.
This assumes importance in the wake of certain cases of alleged fraud being investigated by both Sebi and MCA, such as those involving Fortis Healthcare and Religare Enterprises ltd, and brokers of National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL).
The case of alleged fund diversion in the companies owned formerly by Shivinder and Malvinder Singh is being probed by both Sebi and the Serious Fraud Investigations Office (SFIO), a wing of the MCA. Sebi has passed two interim orders in the case that found ₹2,315 crore of fund diversion in the Religare group of companies and ₹473 crore in the Fortis group.
“The MoU comes in the wake of increasing need for surveillance in the context of corporate fraud affecting important sectors of the economy. As the private sector plays an increasingly vital role in economic growth, the need for a robust corporate governance mechanism becomes the need of the hour," said Sebi in the press statement.
This information will be made available for inspection, examination and prosecution, the market regulator added.
A data exchange steering group will keep track on information sharing and review the data exchange status to make necessary improvements.
