Anoop Kumar Gupta, Joint MD, KRBL, tells ET Now that news linking KRBL with Agusta Westland deal is wrong and that they will have an investor call to put their fears at rest.
Edited excerpts:
There are some media reports indicating that the ED has revived the Agusta Westland case. There were fresh leads and links to KRBL and as we understand, Gautam Khaitan the Delhi lawyer, who was arrested for alleged money laundering in 2014, is also a board member of KRBL. Could you clarify this entire case to us?
Gautam Khaitan was an independent director from 2007 to 2013 in KRBL. He is no longer a director now. But because he was an independent director during 2007-13, I have been questioned by ED several times and I have given all the replies.
I do not know why the name of KRBL comes up. KRBL has nothing to do with the Agusta Westland deal. Only Gautam Khaitan had a link and he resigned in 2013 from the board membership. KRBL has nothing to do with Agusta Westland deal.
What about the probes on routing kickbacks? The concern would be his relationship with KRBL. It could be in the capacity of an independent director but they are probing the linkage of KRBL for alleged processing of kickbacks,
KRBL has nothing to do with KRBL. There is a company in Dubai. They say Balsharaf is our distributor in Saudi Arabia. They have stopped being our distributors. They stopped their share transaction also. KRBL is in no way concerned with Balsharaf, the Dubai company ED or Gautam Khaitan.
I completely take your point that Balsharaf may be a completely separate entity and has nothing to do with KRBL. But there are some concerns about share trading activity by some entities which were involved in the Agusta deal. How would you clarify this probe?
There is no share deal. Balsharaf wanted to sell some shares of KRBL and ED has stopped that transaction. Balsharaf has gone to the high court and the date is 30th July.
How do you rationalise the fact that your share has fallen 14%?
These people are thinking in some other way. KRBL is no way concerned. It will come out in next two-three days. No crime money has come to KRBL. The news is 100% wrong.
The very famous investor Mohnish Pabrai had taken a holding in your business way back in February?
Yes, Balsharaf had sold the shares to Pabrai. Because of the ED, Pabrai took his money back and the shares have gone back to Balsharaf.
Have you reached out to any of your current institutional investors to see if anybody has offloaded a major chunk of their stake?
No, I do not know.
Are you going to reach out to the regulator? Are you going to do an investor call because the stock has come off like ninepins?
We will take a investor call. We will see to it.
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