MARKETS: Zee's Tense Future

Promoters Subhash Chandra and Punit Goenka have rushed to the SAT to appeal against Sebi's interim order barring them from holding directorships. Could this episode also impact the merger with Sony?

- ASHISH RUKHAIYAR

AN INTENSE BATTLE  raged at the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). In the one corner were Subhash Chandra, promoter of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), and his son Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of ZEEL, and on the other, the capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). At issue was Sebi’s interim order barring Goenka and Chandra from holding directorships in any listed entity for allegedly abusing their positions in the company and siphoning off funds for their own benefit.

A lengthy hearing took place on June 19, but at the day’s end there was no respite for the father-son duo as SAT decided to post the matter for further hearing on June 26 and refused to provide them interim relief.

Sebi’s interim order barring the duo was based on an investigation into allegations related to appropriation of certain fixed deposits (FDs) of ZEEL by YES Bank for squaring off loans of related entities of Essel Group.

According to Sebi, Chandra, the then chairman of ZEEL and Essel Group, had provided a ‘Letter of Comfort’ (LoC) towards credit facilities availed by certain group companies from YES Bank in September 2018. This LoC was known only to a few persons in the management and even ZEEL’s board was unaware, Sebi stated in the order.