Mumbai: Terming former executive chairperson of Religare Enterprises Rashmi Saluja the "principal architect of the conspiracy", the Enforcement Directorate has filed a prosecution complaint against her and two others in connection with alleged irregularities in employee stock options ( ESOPs) at Care Health Insurance Ltd (CHIL), a dispute that has escalated into the Dabur-Religare takeover battle. A prosecution complaint is equivalent to a charge-sheet.
The ED said its investigation found that Saluja and her associates had wrongfully acquired shares of CHIL, a subsidiary of REL, through ESOPs, which the agency has identified as "proceeds of crime". The value of tainted shares is estimated at Rs 179.54 crore.
The agency also said that Saluja had "blatant disregard for corporate governance and that the conspiracy went beyond personal enrichment and was aimed at consolidating control of the company through unlawful means".
In August, the Mumbai police had filed a chargesheet against Saluja , former Religare chief financial officer Nitin Aggarwal, ex-group general counsel Nishant Singhal and Mumbai-based office assistant Vaibhav Gawli. The Economic Offences Wing had commenced a probe based on the plaint filed by ED, which alleged that Saluja and her colleagues conspired to derail the Burman family's takeover bid for Religare by misusing ESOP allotments and orchestrating Gawli's police complaint.
The probes found that after Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India rejected an initial ESOP proposal, CHIL's board in August 2022 approved a second grant of 27.2 million shares to Saluja at Rs 45.32 per share, to be vested in three tranches. In the same meeting, the board also cleared a Rs 300-crore rights issue. According to the probe, Saluja allegedly sought to obstruct Burmans' acquisition of Religare by instigating Gawli to lodge a plaint against them. Officials said Gawli was promised cash and shares in return.
At the heart of the case are 22.71 million ESOPs, valued at more than Rs 250 crore, which the IRDAI in November 2023 ruled were granted in violation of sectoral guidelines that cap non-executive director compensation at Rs 10 lakh without prior approval.
The ED said its investigation found that Saluja and her associates had wrongfully acquired shares of CHIL, a subsidiary of REL, through ESOPs, which the agency has identified as "proceeds of crime". The value of tainted shares is estimated at Rs 179.54 crore.
The agency also said that Saluja had "blatant disregard for corporate governance and that the conspiracy went beyond personal enrichment and was aimed at consolidating control of the company through unlawful means".
In August, the Mumbai police had filed a chargesheet against Saluja , former Religare chief financial officer Nitin Aggarwal, ex-group general counsel Nishant Singhal and Mumbai-based office assistant Vaibhav Gawli. The Economic Offences Wing had commenced a probe based on the plaint filed by ED, which alleged that Saluja and her colleagues conspired to derail the Burman family's takeover bid for Religare by misusing ESOP allotments and orchestrating Gawli's police complaint.
The probes found that after Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India rejected an initial ESOP proposal, CHIL's board in August 2022 approved a second grant of 27.2 million shares to Saluja at Rs 45.32 per share, to be vested in three tranches. In the same meeting, the board also cleared a Rs 300-crore rights issue. According to the probe, Saluja allegedly sought to obstruct Burmans' acquisition of Religare by instigating Gawli to lodge a plaint against them. Officials said Gawli was promised cash and shares in return.
At the heart of the case are 22.71 million ESOPs, valued at more than Rs 250 crore, which the IRDAI in November 2023 ruled were granted in violation of sectoral guidelines that cap non-executive director compensation at Rs 10 lakh without prior approval.
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