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Under Sections 11(1), 11(4), 11(4A), 11B(1) and 11B(2) of the Securities and
Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and Section 12A(2) of Securities Contracts
(Regulation) Act, 1956 read with Rule 4(1) of the SEBI (Procedure for Holding
Inquiry and Imposing Penalties) Rules, 1995 and Rule 4(1) of Securities
Contracts (Regulation) (Procedure for Holding Inquiry and Imposing Penalties)
Rules, 2005
In respect of:
(The aforesaid entities are hereinafter individually referred to by their respective names /
Noticee no. and collectively as “Noticees”, unless the context specifies otherwise)
Background:
1. Pursuant to receipt of certain complaints during the period October 2020 to
March 2021 inter alia alleging misstatements/ irregularities in the Financial
Statements of Brightcom Group Ltd. (“BGL” / “Brightcom” / “the Company”),
a listed company, Securities and Exchange Board of India (hereinafter
referred to as “SEBI”) initiated an investigation into the affairs of the Company
for the period covering financial years (FYs) from 2014-15 to 2019-20, with a
special focus on impairment of assets, so as to ascertain possible violations,
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if any, of the provisions of the SEBI Act, 1992 and regulations thereunder and
the Securities Contracts (Regulations) Act, 1956 (“SCRA, 1956”).
4. An overview of the audited annual financial results of BGL, as taken from its
Annual Reports, is provided below:
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Particulars (Annual Standalone Mar-14 Mar-15 Mar-16 Mar-17 Mar-18 Mar-19 Mar-20
INR Lakhs.)
Total Income 61,007 50,282 46,433 46,623 45,482 45,672 48,029
Profit before Tax 1,375 12 34 (323) (361) (213) (113)
Net Profit/(Loss) 916 174 34 (281) (294) (321) (143)
Total Assets/Liabilities 1,08,244 9,60,92 88,435 86,950 87,699 87,733 85,010
Cash Flow From Operations (2,563) 6,472 852 (16) (24) (883) (792)
6. BGL vide email dated October 12, 2022, furnished its detailed response along
with supporting documents. Further, Board of Directors of BGL, through its
representative Mr. S.L. Narayana Raju, appeared before the Investigating
Authority on October 13, 2022, and his statement was recorded.
Subsequently, Mr. Raju furnished further information and documents vide
emails dated October 17, 2022 and October 19, 2022, as undertaken by him
during the statement recording.
7. The final findings of investigation, after considering the replies of BGL and its
CFO in response to interim findings, are discussed in the subsequent
paragraphs under appropriate headings.
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A. Deficiencies in Books of Accounts of Foreign Subsidiaries of BGL:
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Name of the Online Max Dyomo Intl DA- Frontier
DA- Mexico YDL Brasil DA-Chile DA-Panama Total
Subsidiary Media Interactive Corp Expressions Argentina Data
Format in which the
Tally Tally Tally Tally Excel Excel Tally Tally Tally Excel
data was furnished
(Amount in USD)
Impaired OCA 1,67,54,380 42,24,536 40,09,691 1,08,52,785 45,32,714 28,49,946 51,81,880 68,63,842 25,20,188 1,33,86,267 7,11,76,229
Impaired Loans & adv 1,29,52,800 9,48,388 42,07,412 38,26,076 38,80,439 72,26,869 61,82,124 21,12,046 38,91,972 60,99,232 5,13,27,358
Total impairment 2,97,07,180 51,72,923 82,17,103 1,46,78,861 84,13,153 1,00,76,815 1,13,64,004 89,75,887 64,12,160 1,94,85,499 12,25,03,586
(Amount in INR)
Other current assets 1,18,75,50,467 29,94,35,096 28,42,06,886 76,92,45,390 32,12,78,789 20,20,04,200 36,72,91,651 48,65,09,089 17,86,30,936 94,88,18,591 5,04,49,71,095
Loans & adv 91,80,94,462 6,72,21,719 29,82,21,392 27,11,92,297 27,50,45,497 51,22,40,449 43,81,88,944 14,97,01,790 27,58,62,982 43,23,13,582 3,63,80,83,114
Total impairment in
INR 2,10,56,44,929 36,66,56,815 58,24,28,278 1,04,04,37,687 59,63,24,286 71,42,44,649 80,54,80,595 63,62,10,879 45,44,93,918 1,38,11,32,173 8,68,30,54,209
Note: Exchange rate of 1 USD = 70.88 INR is used in the above table which is arrived at BGL’ note on impairment of assets for the FY 2019-20 published on exchanges website on July 01, 2020.
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Online Max Intl DA- Frontier
DA- Mexico YDL Brasil Dyomo Corp DA-Chile DA-Panama Total (in USD)
Subsidiary Name Media Interactive Expressions Argentina Data
OTHER CURRENT ASSETS
Unable to ascertain which year’s assets were impaired and which year’s assets are continuing in the balance sheet As the expenses for which the payments were made could not be ascertained,
1 party-wise ledger accounts were not maintained for aforesaid expenses. Further, in absence of detailed break-up of the expenses, unable to verify the date of actual payments to the vendors/
employees.
Impaired OCA 1,67,54,380 42,24,536 40,09,691 1,08,52,785 45,32,714 28,49,946 51,81,880 68,63,842 25,20,188 1,33,86,267 7,11,76,229
2 Expenses (Salaries, tools, hardware, software) capitalized through a single journal entry into ‘Other current assets”on the last day of every financial year
Expenses capitalized during Review Period 1,97,66,444 43,90,544 68,89,221 1,09,74,726 71,02,881 91,06,389 27,60,115 6,09,90,320
Impaired OCA 1,67,54,380 42,24,536 40,09,691 1,08,52,785 51,81,880 68,63,842 25,20,188 5,04,07,301
3 Amounts impaired in the ledger, resulting in credit balance at the end of FY2019-20
Impaired OCA 1,33,86,267 1,33,86,267
4 Difference in the amount of impairment entry found in the ledgers
Impaired OCA 1000 1,000
LOANS AND ADVANCES
1 No advance payments were recorded in ledgers of vendors and only impairment entries and expenses adjustment entries were recorded
Impaired Loans & adv 21,12,046 21,12,046
2 Fresh advances were made to vendors in subsequent financial years, while the previous financial year’s advance was still outstanding
Impaired Loans & adv 92,62,222 9,48,388 42,07,412 38,26,076 61,82,124 38,91,973 2,83,18,195
3 Advances impaired in FY 2019-20 without any expense utilisation during Review Period
Impaired Loans & adv 34,42,661 14,90,114 49,32,775
4 In absence of a detailed break-up, unable to ascertain which period’s assets were impaired and which period’s assets continued in the books
Impaired Loans & adv 42,20,561 1,78,230 33,90,182 37,38,741 21,12,045 38,91,973 1,75,31,732
5 Amounts impaired in the ledgers having no balance
Impaired Loans & adv 37,32,957 40,03,842 77,36,799
6 Advances to parties impaired where same parties are appearing as creditors
Impaired Loans & adv 1,14,37,925 7,70,158 13,71,560 14,90,114 1,50,69,757
7 Difference in the amount of impairment entry found in the ledgers
Impaired Loans & adv 1,47,482 1,47,482
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9. From the above, it was observed that the books of account and other relevant
books, documents, minutes, etc. prepared and maintained by BGL & its
foreign subsidiaries including that of its branch office and foreign subsidiaries,
were are not sufficient to explain the transactions effected both by BGL and
its foreign subsidiaries.
10. It was thus observed that the financial statements of BGL did not conform to
the provisions of Section 129 of the Companies Act, 2013 which inter alia
provides that “The financial statements shall give a true and fair view of the
state of affairs of the company or companies, comply with the accounting
standards notified under section 133 and shall be in the form or forms as may
be provided for different class or classes of companies in Schedule III.”
12. As far as the parent company BGL was concerned, the requirement to
maintain books of accounts and the period for which the same had to be
maintained is prescribed in Section 128(1) of the Companies Act 2013. In
case of BGL, the investment in the subsidiaries was shown as investments
in the standalone financials statements of the parent company. In view of the
same, the Company was not only required to maintain the books of accounts
and records in respect of transactions entered into with its subsidiaries but
was also required to maintain the books of account of all its subsidiaries to
assist the management in the preparation of consolidated financial
statements as per Indian GAAP. As BGL failed to maintain the books of
accounts of its subsidiaries in the abovementioned required manner, the
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same led to the consolidated financial statements of BGL not giving a true
and fair view of the financial position/ performance of the Company.
14. The breakup of the assets impaired by subsidiaries of BGL during FY 2019-
20 is given below:
(INR Crore)
Subsidiary Country Loans Other Total
given (A) current (A+B)
assets (B)
1 Online Media Solutions Ltd. Israel 91.81 118.76 210.56
2 Frontier Data Management USA 43.23 94.88 138.11
Inc
3 YDL brant Digital Services De Brazil 27.12 76.92 104.04
Publicidade
4 DreamAd -Argentina Argentina 43.82 36.73 80.55
5 International Expressions Inc USA 51.22 20.20 71.42
6 DreamAd -Chile Chile 14.97 48.65 63.62
7 Dyomo Corporation USA 27.50 32.13 59.63
8 Max Interactive Pty Ltd. Australia 29.82 28.42 58.24
9 DreamAd -Panama Panama 27.59 17.86 45.45
10 DreamAd -Mexico Mexico 6.72 29.94 36.67
Total 363.81 504.50 868.30
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16. Following is the subsidiary-wise break up of assets impaired with amount in
USD:
(In USD)
# Subsidiary Country Loans Other Total
given (A) current (A+B)
assets (B)
1 Online Media Solutions Ltd. Israel 16,754,380 12,952,800 29,707,180
2 Frontier Data Management USA 13,386,267 6,099,232 19,485,499
Inc
3 YDL brant Digital Services Brazil 10,852,785 3,826,076 14,678,861
De Publicidade
4 DreamAd -Argentina Argentina 5,181,880 6,182,124 11,364,004
5 International Expressions USA 2,849,946 7,226,869 10,076,815
Inc
6 DreamAd -Chile Chile 6,863,842 2,112,046 8,975,887
7 Dyomo Corporation USA 4,532,714 3,880,439 8,413,153
8 Max Interactive Pty Ltd. Australia 4,009,691 4,207,412 8,217,103
9 DreamAd -Panama Panama 2,520,188 3,891,972 6,412,160
10 DreamAd -Mexico Mexico 4,224,536 948,388 5,172,923
Total 71,176,229 51,327,358 122,503,586
17. BGL provided the books of accounts of the following 10 subsidiaries (in which
impairment had occurred in FY 2019-20) for the Investigation period:
18. The impaired products/platforms of Rs. 504.50 Crore were classified under
the head ‘Other current assets’ in the Consolidated Balance Sheet of BGL.
Further, on examination of the audited Consolidated Financial Statements of
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BGL, separate heads such as ‘Other Intangible Assets’ and ‘Intangible Assets
Under Development’ were noted in the in the Balance Sheet, as shown below:
19. Vide summons dated February 23, 2022, BGL was asked to provide
bifurcation of impaired current assets in two categories, viz. Assets
Created/Owned by the Company and Third Party Assets, and their usage
terms. The Company was further asked whether the discontinued products
were being developed for customers, and if so, to provide the respective
contracts with customers. Further, the Company was also asked why
Impaired products formed a part of Current Assets under the head ‘Other
Receivables’ in the Balance Sheet, instead of Intangible assets/CWIP.
20. The Company replied vide letter dated March 02, 2022 and submitted that all
impaired current assets were under the category "created/owned" and were
used for internal purposes only. The part which was under the head "current
assets", which were related to products under development, remained in that
category. The finished products move into intangible assets.
21. Further, the past CFO of BGL, Mr. Yepuri Srinivasa Rao, in his statement
recorded before the Investigating Authority, SEBI (“IA”) on June 01, 2022
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stated, “As per my knowledge, expenditure incurred on products developed
for internal use is shown as “Other Current assets” and expenditure incurred
on products which results in patents etc., are recorded as “Intangible under
development”.
22. CFO of BGL, Mr. Narayana Raju S. L., during his statement recording before
the IA on October 13, 2022 was asked about the accounting policy followed
by BGL and its subsidiaries in recognizing its intangible assets. The CFO
responded by referring to BGL’s letter dated October 11, 2022, wherein it was
stated:
“At BCG, we keep investing on our products on a continuous basis. This will
help us to stay up to date with changing market / statutory compliance related
requirements and to provide robust and holistic solutions to our customers
that meets regulatory requirements as well.
For example, if we launch the Content Optimization product in 2014, we keep
upgrading it on an annual basis and the relevant expenditure is recognized
as addition to Other Current Assets / Intangible Assets Under Development /
Other Intangible Assets based on the product development status of each
product. A brief note explaining the process and nomenclature is given below:
Other Current Assets: All the expenses incurred towards Salaries, Software,
Tools and Hardware during the Concept, Design and prototype building stage
are classified as Other current assets
Intangible Assets Under Development and Capital Work in Progress: Once
the prototype is build is complete, the product / component will then move to
testing and soft launch stage. The soft launch is required to test for bugs and
customer-level testing. The bug fixing is also part of this stage.
In addition to the expenses related to this activity, portion of “Other Current
Assets” relevant to each product / component for which testing and soft
launch is completed will be moved to this head of account.
Other Fixed Assets/Intangible Assets: Once the product/component is
commercially launched all the expenses related to the product/component
are then classified / recognised as:
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1. Fixed Assets: Expenditure related to Computer Equipment, Furniture &
Fixtures, Software Licenses, Tools etc., will be recognized under this head.
2. Other Intangible Assets: All the expenditure towards Salaries, Cost of
Outsourced Services and similar costs will be recognized under this head.”
23. Further, BGL had also furnished its Accounting Policy for Classification of
Product Development Expenditure vide its response dated October 11, 2022,
which is given below:
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expenditure is classified into different heads of account by passing one single
entry. This process is adopted consistently since inception.
24. Mr. S L Narayana Raju, the CFO of the Company, during his statement
recording before IA, provided his responses on the accounting policies
followed by the Company. Vide email dated October 17, 2022, he also
provided a flow chart explaining the accounting treatment followed for
recognition of Intangible Assets, which is as under:
25. After analyzing the responses provided by the Company and its CFO, the
following observations were made in respect of the accounting policy of BGL
vis-à-vis the applicable accounting standards:
(a) BGL doesn’t classify the asset generation life-cycle into Research Stage
and Development Stage, as required under Accounting Standard 26
and IND AS 38 for accounting purpose.
(b) All the expenses incurred towards Salaries, Software, Tools and
Hardware during the Concept, Design and prototype building stage
were classified as ‘Other current assets’. These stages could not be
clearly distinguished into the research and development phase and
hence, should have been treated as if they were incurred in the research
phase only and, hence, treated as expenses when they are incurred.
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(c) Once the prototype was complete, the product/component then had to
move to testing and soft launch stage which would fall into Development
phase. However, in addition to the expenses related to this development
phase, portion of “Other Current Assets” (i.e. expenses incurred during
research phase which should have been treated as expenses) relevant
to each product/component for which testing and soft launch was
completed, also got recognized as Intangible Assets Under
Development and Capital Work in Progress. The same was not in
accordance with Accounting Standard 26 and IND AS 38.
26. In view of the above, it was observed that the accounting policy followed by
BGL led to overcapitalization of the Intangible assets which resultantly led to
inflation of profits.
27. Investigation revealed that assets recorded in books of accounts (prior to and
during the Investigation Period) were partially impaired. However, the time
when these assets were initially recognized and the period for which they
continued to be recognized could not be ascertained. BGL furnished four
different responses with respect to initial recognition of the impaired assets
in the books of accounts of its subsidiaries and consolidated financial
statements. The details of these sets are given below:
Data Set 1 – As per BGL’s response vide letter dated 23 Feb 2022, the ‘Other
Current Assets’ impaired by the subsidiaries of BGL in FY 2019-20,
aggregating to Rs.504.28 Crore (USD 7.12 Crore) were initially recorded in
FY 2018-19.
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Data Set 2- From BGL’s email dated June 24, 2022, it was observed that the
above-mentioned assets of Rs.504.28 Crore were recorded during the period
FY 2016-17, FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19.
Data Set 3 - On review of books of accounts, it was noted that ‘Other current
assets’ had started getting initially recorded even prior to April 2014 and
continued till FY 2019-20. However, from the ledger account, individual
mapping of the impaired asset could not be carried out with the recognized
assets and hence it could not be ascertained in which year the impaired
assets were initially recognized.
Amount in USD
Period As per books of accounts (Data set 3) Impaired Impaired Impaired
Ledger Transaction Balance asset asset asset
Amount amount recorded breakup breakup
as per Data as per as per
set 1 Data set 2 Data set 4
Opening bal. 127,025 127,025 - - 127,025
FY 2014-15 Salaries for OCA 472,934 599,959 - - 456,046
FY 2015-16 Salaries for OCA 23,372 623,331 - - 21,354
FY 2016-17 Salaries for OCA 97,982 721,313 - 344,706 97,982
FY 2017-18 Salaries for OCA 16,150 737,463 - 239,930 16,150
FY 2018-19 Salaries for OCA 180,402 917,865 8,98,961 314,325 180,402
FY 2019-20 Salaries for OCA 208,431 1,126,296 - -
FY 2019-20 Impairment (898,961) 227,335 - -
Total 898,961 898,961 898,961
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on which data set is correct. All the four possibilities are given in the Table
below:
30. Notwithstanding which data set is correct, it was inferred that BGL had
wrongly classified the expenditure incurred during the research phase and
research-cum-development phase (the phase in which BGL could not
distinguish the research phase from the development phase) of the creation
of intangible assets to the tune of 504.49 crores as current assets. However,
this expenditure should have been recognized as expenses in Profit & Loss
Account, in conformity with the Accounting Standard 26 (FY 2014-15 & 2015-
16) and IND AS 38 (FY 2016-17 to FY 2019-20. However, the Company failed
to do so.
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2015-16) & Indian Accounting Standards (“Ind AS”) 38 (FY 2016-17 to FY
2019-20) was in violation of Regulation 4(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) (e), (g), (h), (i), (j),
4(2)(e)(i), 33(1)(c) & 48 of SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015.
32. As per Auditor’s report, the consolidated financial statements of BGL for FY
2019-20 were prepared in accordance with Ind AS, as prescribed under
Section 133 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the rules therein.
33. Para 60 of the Ind AS 36 which deals with the recognition of impairment loss,
provides that “An impairment loss shall be recognised immediately in profit or
loss, unless the asset is carried at revalued amount in accordance with
another Standard (for example, in accordance with the revaluation model in
Ind AS 16). Any impairment loss of a revalued asset shall be treated as a
revaluation decrease in accordance with that other Standard.”
34. Further, para 61 of the said Ind AS 36 provides that “An impairment loss on
a non-revalued asset is recognised in profit or loss. However, an impairment
loss on a revalued asset is recognised in other comprehensive income to the
extent that the impairment loss does not exceed the amount in the revaluation
surplus for that same asset. Such an impairment loss on a revalued asset
reduces the revaluation surplus for that asset.”
35. From the above, it was observed that in the absence of any revaluation of
assets, as per Ind AS 36, the Company was required to give effect of the
impairments in the Profit or Loss in the same financial year.
37. In respect of the above, BGL vide response dated March 03, 2022 stated,
“The impairment loss incurred for the year ending 31-3-2020 is extraordinary
in nature. The Impairment of assets was to be done due to regulatory
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changes i.e. introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation
(GDPR) laws. This Impairment was included under the other comprehensive
income because the expenditure incurred was yet to be realized as of 31-3-
2020 but was impaired due to the change in GDPR laws.”
38. Further, the statutory audit firm of BGL for FY2019-20 vide email dated 15
June 2022, stated that the impairment of assets was extra-ordinary item and
not a direct expenditure of Indian Parent and hence did not have direct
bearing on the profitability of the Company, because of which it was
recognized under Other Comprehensive Income. As regards compliance with
Ind AS 36, the Audit Firm stated that the treatment of impairment of assets,
as mentioned in the para 60 & 61 of the Ind AS 36, was applicable to the
Parent Company only. In the instant case, the assets impaired pertained to
subsidiaries and hence the treatment followed by the Company was correct
for comprehensive presentation of the financial statements.
39. In the instant matter, as the assets impaired were in the nature of ‘trade
advances’, ‘capital work in progress’ and ‘intangible assets under
development’, none of which was revalued, the Company was required to
give effect of their impairment in Profit or Loss, as required under Ind AS 36.
Thus, the recognition of impairment losses of these assets under OCI was
not in compliance with Ind AS 36. Had the impairment losses of these assets
been recognized in Profit or Loss, the loss for the FY 2019-20 would have
been Rs.428.20 Crore (ignoring impact of taxation due to additional
expenditure) as against reported profit of Rs.440.10 Crore.
In Rupees
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40. The non-compliance by BGL with Ind AS 36 in the preparation and
presentation of the financial statements was in violation of Regulation 4(1)(a),
(b), (c), (d) (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), 4(2)(e)(i), 33(1)(c) & 48 of SEBI (LODR)
Regulations, 2015.
41. On examining the audited financial statements of BGL for FY 2019-20, it was
observed that though there was impairment loss of Rs.868.30 Crore, no
disclosure of the events and circumstances that led to the recognition of such
impairment losses was made, as required under Para 130 of “Ind AS 36 –
Impairment of Assets”.
42. Further, Mr. Suresh Kumar Reddy, CMD of BGL, during his statement
recording before the IA on March 17, 2022, agreed with SEBI’s observations
that the disclosures required under Para 130 of Ind AS 36 were not made by
the Company.
43. From the above, it is evident that BGL did not make the disclosures w.r.t the
events and circumstances that led to the recognition of the impairment loss
in the preparation and presentation of the financial statements for the FY
2019-20, as required under Ind AS 36. The same was in violation of
Regulation 4(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), 4(2)(e)(i), 33(1)(c) & 48 of
SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.
44. The following sequence of events were observed based on BGL’s reply dated
September 27, 2021 and February 23 2022:
Period Event
April 2016 GDPR was introduced
Prior to April 2014 to March Recording the ‘Loans and advances’ of INR 364 Crore and ‘Other
2020 Current Assets’ of INR 504 Crore (based on the ledger extracts and
books of accounts of respective subsidiaries)
May 2018 GDPR became effective; BGL declared itself as GDPR compliant
March 2020 Impairment of INR 868 Crore
(Loans and Advances - INR 364 Crore and Other Current Assets -
INR 504 Crore)
March 2020 onwards Covid-19 pandemic
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45. Para 9 of Ind AS 36 states “An entity shall assess at the end of each reporting
period whether there is any indication that an asset may be impaired.”
Further, paragraph 12 of the said standard states that in assessing whether
there is any indication that an asset may be impaired, an entity shall consider,
as a minimum, various indications, including significant changes with an
adverse effect on the entity that have taken place during the period, or will
take place in the near future, in the technological, market, economic or legal
environment in which the entity operates or in the market to which an asset
is dedicated.
46. From the Official Journal of the European Union dated May 04, 2016, it was
observed that GDPR was enacted by European Parliament in April 2016 and
became applicable w.e.f May 25, 2018. The Company had claimed that the
introduction of GDPR had an adverse impact which led to impairment of
assets in FY 2019-20.
47. It was noted from BGL’s Minutes of the Board meeting dated 29 May 2018
that BGL had declared itself as GDPR compliant in May 2018. Further, BGL
also made a similar announcement dated 25 May 2018 on its website as well
as in its Annual Report for FY 2019-20. Further, BGL in its letter dated
October 11, 2022, to SEBI, had stated:
“GDPR was originally proposed on April 14, 2016 with a primary aim of
providing the individuals control and rights over their personal data and
applies to any enterprise—regardless of its location and the data subjects'
citizenship or residence—that is processing the personal information of
individuals inside the EU.
For Digital Marketing Industry, in which BCG operates, personal data forms
the core of business. The personal data gathered is used for different
purposes like assessing the consumer behavioral patterns, providing relevant
advertisements based on customer’s age group, income group, gender,
geographic location, interests, habits / hobbies, seasonality of purchases and
so on.
Going by general perception, it is this huge increase in collection and usage
of data for personalized marketing which has triggered introduction of GDPR.
The GDPR is a sweeping attempt to put the individual back in control of their
personal data, which means marketers need to work harder for their access
to and use of it.
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Once GDPR regulations came into effect, BCG has started reviewing all the
products components for compliance and to understand the changes that
need to be made to each of them to ensure that the consumer data is collected
in a way that meets the GDPR requirements.
During the course of review there were several products / components which
were identified as non-compliant and some of the products / components
needed tweaks to make them meet the requirements. Please find attached
the entire Product List in Exhibit 5.”
48. The Board minutes of BGL dated June 25, 2020 highlighted that “The
management with the advice of the competent technical teams had taken
decision of impairing the assets.”
“The official implementation date was 21 May 2018 and we were compliant
as per our internal testing and load testing prior to going to production on that
said date. However, its company’s practice to observe the functionality of the
compliance for an additional 6 months to make sure no bugs or glitches would
surface. In that context by the time it was all said and done, to be thinking of
the lightened assets and their impaired value, we entered into FY2019-20”.
50. From the above, it was observed that impairment due to introduction of GDPR
had to be done latest by November 2018, whereas it was done in FY 2019-
20 and there was a delay of more than a year in observing the functionality
and the actual impairment date (i.e. Nov 2018 to Mar 2020).
51. BGL’s in its response dated October 11, 2022 had stated that the Company
was still in the process of upgrading the products to meet GDPR requirements
by tweaking, testing and observing functionality both for compliance and
stability. Hence, because of this exhaustive testing, identifying bugs and
assessing if such bugs could be fixed for each product and its components,
the decision to impair was taken in FY 2019-20.
52. BGL was asked to furnish the reports of the testing performed in 2018 and
2020 by the technical team of the Company. However, BGL failed to provide
the same.
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53. Further, BGL vide response dated March 03, 2022 stated that it did not test
the assets for impairment during FY 2016-17 and FY 2018-19. Also, BGL in
its response dated October 11, 2022 stated: “While testing of products and
components is an ongoing activity, we did not test any assets during FY 2016-
17 and 2018-19 with a view to impair them. There was no intention to Impair
the assets. We were continuously trying to upgrade our products /
components to meet GDPR requirements. The assets to impair was only
taken after an extensive effort and after confirming that those assets will not
be useful in future.”
54. However, it was observed that the note forming part of consolidated financial
statements of BGL for FY 2018-19, stated “Impairment of Non-financial
assets”- “The carrying amounts of assets are reviewed at each balance sheet
date if there is any indication of impairment based on internal/external factors.
An impairment loss is recognized wherever the carrying amount of an asset
exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the greater of
the asset’s net selling price and value in use. In assessing value in use, the
estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value at the
weighted average cost of capital. After impairment, depreciation is provided
on the revised carrying amount of the asset over its remaining useful life”.
55. As observed above, the GDPR was introduced in April 2016 and the same
became effective two years later in May 2018, which was indicative of
significant changes with an adverse effect on BGL in the technological,
market, economic or legal environment in which the Company operated or in
the market to which its assets were dedicated. However, it was found that the
Company had not followed its own declared accounting policies pertaining to
review of assets for impairment.
56. Had BGL tested the assets that were impaired in 2019-20 for impairment in
2016-17 to 2018-19, the impairment of these assets would have been taken
place in earlier years itself. Even after declaring itself compliant with GDPR
in April 2018, BGL continued to show these assets at their carrying amounts,
without recognizing impairment loss.
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 22 of 77
57. The argument of the Company that impairment loss was not recorded in the
earlier years as it was observing the functionality of the compliance for an
additional six months was unacceptable as the Ind AS 36 required an entity
to assess at the end of each reporting period whether there was any
indication that an asset might be impaired. If any such indication existed, the
Company was required to estimate the recoverable amount of the asset. If,
and only if the recoverable amount of an asset was less than its carrying
amount, then the carrying amount of the asset was required to be reduced to
its recoverable amount and such reduction was to be taken as an impairment
loss. An impairment loss was required to be recognized immediately in profit
or loss.
58. Further, the Company’s contention was also untenable for the fact that after
recognizing the impairment loss, at a later date, if the asset that was impaired
due to GDPR was upgraded to meet the GDPR requirements, then it was
open to BGL to reverse the impairment loss in accordance with para 110 &
111 of Ind AS 36.
“f) The Subsidiary company M/s. Ybrant Media Acquisition Inc. has acquired
M/s. Lycos Inc. M/s. Ybrant Media Acquisition Inc. has failed to pay part
consideration of USD 16 Million for acquisition of M/s. Lycos Inc., to Daum
Global Holdings Corporation and the district court of New York has given
judgment to handover back 56 % equity in M/s. Lycos Inc. to M/s. Daum
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 23 of 77
Global Holdings Corporation. In the current financial year M/s. Ybrant Media
Acquisition Inc. has written off its investment in M/s. Lycos Inc., an amount of
USD 38 Million in the statement of profit & loss under the head other
comprehensive income and the outstanding liability of USD 16 Million is
continuing in the financials as the dispute still going on. Also the Reserves
which are in existence as at 1st April 2018 in respect of previous financial
year consolidation of Lycos Inc., into Ybrant Media Acquisition Inc. has been
written off in the current financial year 2018-2019 amounting to Rs. 244.06
crores.”
61. BGL in its response to SEBI dated 11 November 2021 stated: “We wish to
inform you that the subsidiary (Ybrant Media Acquisition Inc., USA) has failed
to pay part consideration due to Daum Global Holding Corporation in respect
of acquisition of Lycos Inc., considering which the district court of New York
has granted receivership of 56% shares of the Lycos Inc. back to Daum
Global Holding Corporation. In the view of the same, the profits earned after
acquisition and initial goodwill both put together came to $ 63,102,165. This
amount is written off and after conversion in INR it came to INR 411.76
Crore”.
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 24 of 77
64. On conducting public domain searches, it was further observed that YMA had
filed for bankruptcy in 2016. This was further confirmed by Statutory auditors
in their report on Audited Financial Statements for FY2016-17.
65. YMA had negative equity in FY2018-19 of –Rs.95.51 Crore and in FY2019-
20 of -Rs.104.10 Crore). Further, it was noted that BGL had neither created
any provision against the investment in its subsidiary (YMA) of INR 126.52
Crore nor written off its investment in its subsidiary, YMA.
66. BGL vide response to SEBI dated March 03, 2022 stated the following
rationale for not writing off the investment:
“This amount of approximately $20 million was invested into YMA in 2010 to
be used as the first payment in the acquisition of Lycos Inc. from the sellers
Daum Global Holding Corporation. The total value of acquisition was
supposed to be $36 million subject to certain clauses of performance.
However, a dispute arose in this regard and we went to arbitration in
Singapore and subsequent to that Daum filed the arbitration judgment in US
court to reclaim Lycos back or have us pay a higher amount to complete the
transaction. In this context as your good self is well aware that US laws
allows for a Chapter 11 protection which is primarily to give the buyer time to
come up with a payment plan and not close down the company. It is in effect
similar to a stay order to stop them from taking the asset back and rework a
payment settlement.
We are now in the process / negotiating a final settlement amount and
working on putting it down into a settlement agreement which will bring the
asset “Lycos INC” back to the fold of Brightcom group.
This is the reason we did not write off the investment”.
67. Shri M. Suresh Kumar Reddy, CEO and MD of BGL, during his statement
recording before IA on March 17, 2022, was asked about the expected date
to complete the transaction i.e. acquisition of "Lycos Inc.". He was also asked
on what basis was the Management certain of executing the above
transaction, and if not, why the Management had not created any provision
for the same. He was further asked whether there was any agreement for a
refund of $20m (initial investment in Ybrant Media Acquisition) if the deal did
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 25 of 77
not come through. In response, Mr. Reddy stated that the Management was
expected to close the transaction in coming few quarters and the approximate
date was October/November 2022. Regarding the issue of provisioning, Mr.
Reddy stated that the Management was in the final stages of settling the final
payment for the said acquisition and they strongly believed that the said asset
would return to the Group’s (Company’s) control. Hence, they thought that
the investment was still valid and valuable. Regarding the issue of refund, Mr.
Reddy replied that No refund was to be made on the investment.
68. BGL did not furnish any documentation such as Board resolutions, internal
discussions, legal assessment from the Counsel, or other supporting
documents of the plans for execution of the settlement deal with the sellers
Daum Global Holding Corporation which were sought vide summons dated
July 21, 2022. The Draft settlement agreement, which was shared, was
neither dated nor signed.
69. BGL in its reply dated October 11, 2022 submitted that since Chapter 11
Bankruptcy case was filed which provided BGL with the breathing room
necessary to complete settlement discussions with Daum and complete a
capital raise through debt and/or equity financing with the assistance of
Ybrant Digital, there was no need to create a provision.
70. As per para 12 of Ind AS 36: Impairment of assets, “In assessing whether
there is any indication that an asset may be impaired, an entity shall consider,
as a minimum, the following indications for an investment in a subsidiary,
jointly controlled entity or associate, the investor recognises a dividend from
the investment and evidence is available that - the carrying amount of the
investment in the separate financial statements exceeds the carrying
amounts in the consolidated financial statements of the investee’s net assets,
including associated goodwill”.
71. In the instant case, the carrying amount of BGL’s investment in YMA, as
disclosed in the separate financial statements, and the Net assets of YMA,
as disclosed in the Annual Report for FY 2018-19 and 2-19-20 are as below:
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 26 of 77
(INR Crore)
Particulars As at March 31, 2019 As at March 31, 2020
Investment in YMA in the
126.52* 126.52#
separate financial
statements BGL
Net assets of YMA
(95.51)** (104.10)##
Source
*Note No.6 at page 63 of #Note No.6 at page 128 of
Annual Report for the FY Annual Report for the FY
2018-19 2019-20
**Annexure-B at page 112 of ##Annexure-B at page 207 of
Annual Report for the FY Annual Report for the FY
2018-19 2019-20
72. As the carrying amount of the investment in the separate financial statements
exceeded the carrying amounts of the investee’s net assets in the
consolidated financial statements, BGL should have impaired its investment
in the subsidiary YMA in the FY 2018-19 in its standalone financial results,
which it should have continued to maintain in the financial statements for the
FY 2019-20 also, since the asset value continued to be negative in FY 2019-
20 also.
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75. It was further observed from the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements
of BGL for FY 2018-19 that the impairment of assets of Rs. 411.76 Crore was
disclosed under OCI in the Consolidated Profit and Loss statement.
76. As per the Notes forming part of Consolidated financial statements for the
year ended March 31, 2019 (Note No.2 at Page 88 of the Annual Report for
the FY 2018-19), the consolidated financial statements of BGL for FY 2018-
19 were prepared in accordance with Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS)
as prescribed under section 133 of the Companies Act, 2013 and the rules
therein.
77. As already stated above, Para 60 of the Ind AS 36 which deals with the
recognition of impairment loss, provides that “An impairment loss shall be
recognised immediately in profit or loss, unless the asset is carried at
revalued amount in accordance with another Standard (for example, in
accordance with the revaluation model in Ind AS 16). Any impairment loss of
a revalued asset shall be treated as a revaluation decrease in accordance
with that other Standard.”
78. Further, para 61 of the said Ind AS 36 provides that “An impairment loss on
a non-revalued asset is recognised in profit or loss. However, an impairment
loss on a revalued asset is recognised in other comprehensive income to the
extent that the impairment loss does not exceed the amount in the revaluation
surplus for that same asset. Such an impairment loss on a revalued asset
reduces the revaluation surplus for that asset.”
79. On examining the Audited Financial statements from FY 2014-15 till FY 2018-
19, there were no disclosures pertaining to revaluation surplus in relation to
any asset during the aforesaid financial years, implying that the assets which
were impaired in FY 2018-19 were not revalued in the past during FYs 2014-
15 to 2018-19. Further, as per note at page 93 of the Annual Report for the
FY 2018-19, the Investment in subsidiaries were measured at cost less
impairment.
80. In view of the above, BGL should have recognized the impairment loss of
amounting to Rs. 411.76 Crore in profit or loss instead of Other
Comprehensive Income. Had the impairment losses of these assets been
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 28 of 77
recognized in profit or loss, the profit for the year would have been Rs.32.21
Crore (ignoring impact of taxation due to additional expenditure) as against
reported profit of Rs.443.98 Crore.
In Rupees
Figures after correct accounting
Reported
Particulars treatment (Ignoring Taxation
Figures
impact)
Total Revenue 25,77,72,73,762 25,77,72,73,762
Total Expenditure 19,69,17,63,113 23,80,94,24,603
Profit before tax 6,08,55,10,649 1,96,78,49,159
Profit after Tax 4,43,97,61,048 32,20,99,558
81. The above non-compliance by BGL with Ind AS 36 in the preparation and
presentation of the financial statements for the FY 2018-19 was in violation
of Regulation 4(1)(a), (b), (c), (d) (e), (g), (h), (i), (j), 4(2)(e)(i), 33(1)(c) & 48
of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.
82. The Company, vide its letter dated 27 Sept 2021 to SEBI, provided the
following rationale for recording the impairment of assets worth INR 868.30
Crore in FY 2019-20:
“The company has done impairment for the financial year 2019-20 due to the
regulatory changes, i.e., introduction of GDPR and also due to the slowdown
of business operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic and our future plans
for the coming fiscal year in this environment. From time to time the company
reviews the recoverability of advances. As per the IND AS, if there is any
uncertainty about the timing of recoverability of assets, the same is to be
impaired. As a prudent accounting practice, the management had taken
decision to impair the advances”.
83. The Company further stated that: “The primary reason for impairment,
especially on the OCA (Other current Assets) and current assets were due to
the introduction of new cyber law in 2018 across the EU and various parts of
the world called the GDPR”.
85. It was noted that if the reason for impairment of assets was the introduction
of GDPR, as stated by the company, considering the value of assets
impaired, the company should have made a disclosure to Stock Exchanges
under Regulation 30 r/w clause 7 of para B of Part A of Schedule III of SEBI
(LODR) Regulations, 2015.
86. SEBI had issued summonses dated February 23, 2022 and July 21, 2022 to
the Company asking it to furnish copies of all the disclosures made by BGL
in respect of introduction of GDPR. In response to the same, Mr. Suresh
Kumar Reddy vide email dated August 02, 2022 submitted a copy of Press
Release titled “Brightcom Group -Ready for GDPR” dated May 25, 2018
which was submitted to the stock exchanges on May 25, 2018. The relevant
extracts that talks about GDPR is reproduced below:
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87. From the above press release, it was seen that Brightcom had stated that it
had already established controls to ensure the compliance with GDPR.
However, BGL did not make any specific disclosure in respect of financial
impact of GDPR on the business of the Company in the FY 2018-19.
88. As per Section 134(3) of the Company’s Act 2013, the report by Board of
Director’s which is part of Annual report of the company shall inter alia include
“material changes and commitments, if any, affecting the financial position of
the company which have occurred between the end of the financial year of
the company to which the financial statements relate and the date of the
report”. As noted earlier, GDPR was enacted by European Parliament in April
2016 and became applicable w.e.f. May 25, 2018. The Director’s report for
the Financial Years ended on March 31, 2016 and March 31, 2018 were
dated November 21, 2016 and October 16, 2018, respectively. It was noted
that even though the enactment of GDPR in April 2016 and applicability of
GDPR w.e.f. May 2018, had material impact on the financial statements of
the Company, there was no mention of these events in the Directors’ Report
of the company dated November 21, 2016 and October 16, 2018. Instead,
both the reports stated “There are no Material Changes and Commitments
affecting the financial position of the Company which occurred between the
end of the financial year to which the financial statements relate and the date
of this Report.”
89. Regulation 34(2) of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 provides that the
annual report shall contain the Management Discussion and Analysis Report
- either as a part of the Directors’ Report or addition thereto. According to
Schedule V of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, the Management Discussion
and Analysis should inter alia include discussion on certain matters, viz.
Industry structure and developments, Opportunities and Threats, Outlook,
Risks and concerns. The Management Discussion and Analysis reports of
the Company for the financial years ending March 31, 2017 to March 31,
2020 (i.e. all the financial years starting from the year in which GDPR was
enacted in the European Parliament till the financial year in which the
impairment of assets purportedly due to introduction of GDPR) were
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 31 of 77
examined and it was noticed that the Company had merely made the
following disclosure in the said years:
90. The above statement was found to be generic in nature and could not be said
to be pertaining to GDPR and its impact on the Company due to following
reasons:
(b) The compliance requirements under GDPR were not just restricted to
disclosure of published privacy statement on the Company’s website
but also included other requirements.
91. In view of the above, it was observed that BGL had allegedly violated
Regulation 30 r/w clause 7 of para B of Part A of Schedule III of SEBI (LODR)
Regulations, 2015 for not making disclosure in respect of impact of
introduction of GDPR on the functioning of the company. BGR had also
allegedly violated Regulation 34(2) of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 for
not disclosing introduction of GDPR as Threats, Outlook, Risks or concerns
in Management Discussion and Analysis statement in the Annual Reports for
the financial years ending March 31, 2017 to March 31, 2020 (i.e. all the
financial years starting from the year in which GDPR was enacted in the
European Parliament till the financial year in which the impairment of assets
purportedly due to introduction of GDPR).
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 32 of 77
93. The examination revealed a trend wherein each year, the additions to the
“Intangible Assets under Development” and “Capital Work-in Progress” were
entirely transferred to “Intangible Assets” in the subsequent year. Further, the
additions to “Intangible Assets under Development” and “Capital Work-in
Progress” during each year, showed the closing balances under the said
heads at the end of the said year. The same is shown in the table below:
94. In this regard, BGL vide email dated October 17, 2022 had replied “The
average cycle time from the Concept design stage till commercial launch is
about 12 months. Hence, at the end of every year, we capitalize the opening
balances in Intangible Assets under Development and Capital Work in
Progress. Any new additions during the year will continue to appear as
closing balance.”
95. The above explanation was found to be untenable, since it was unlikely that
entire expenditure on concept stage was incurred on the very last day of the
financial year which required BGL to transfer entire opening balance in
CWIP/Intangible assets under development to Intangible assets at the end of
subsequent financial. Further, Mr. Narayana Raju, the CFO of BGL, in his
statement recorded before the IA on October 13, 2022 had admitted that it
was difficult to generalize the time to commercially launch a product and that
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 33 of 77
each product / service offering would have its own level of complexity. He
further submitted that while some of the products might take anywhere
between 90 to 180 days to meet GDPR regulations, some product
development activities might take more than a year or two.
96. Further, BGL vide letter dated October 11, 2022 stated that “At BGL, we keep
investing on our products on a continuous basis. This will help us to stay up
to date with changing market / statutory compliance related requirements and
to provide robust and holistic solutions to our customers that meets regulatory
requirements as well.”
97. From the above, it was clear that the generation cycle of every intangible
asset not necessarily coincided with the start and the end of a financial year.
Thus, the asset recognition practice at BGL was not in accordance with
Accounting Standard 26 & Ind AS 38 which inter alia state that an intangible
asset shall be recognized if, and only if it is probable that the expected future
economic benefits that are attributable to the asset will flow to the entity.
100. SEBI vide email dated October 12, 2021 inter alia asked the Company the
reasons for abovementioned non-disclosure of details pertaining to forensic
audit initiation, till date. In response, the Company vide letter dated October
13, 2021 inter-alia submitted that vide letter dated October 1, 2021 it had
already requested SEBI to withdraw the external audit. It further stated that
the said audit was regarding the impairment of assets done for the financial
year 2019-20 for which the company had submitted exhaustive list of
information and clarifications to SEBI, due to which it was awaiting a positive
response resulting in withdrawal of such audit.
101. It was observed that though the Company had made a request for withdrawal
of audit, SEBI vide letter dated February 17, 2022 had informed BGL that its
request for withdrawal of forensic audit was not acceded to. However, even
after the said communication, no disclosure was made on the stock exchange
in terms of Regulation 30 of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015. Accordingly,
the reason for non-disclosure was again sought from BGL vide email dated
February 22, 2022. BGL vide its letter dated February 23, 2022 replied that
all the details and documents required by SEBI had been submitted and no
details were pending. It further stated that filing of the requisite disclosures
should not be insisted upon.
102. From the above, it was observed that the Company had no intention to make
the disclosure regarding initiation of forensic audit, despite repeated
reminders. Accordingly, vide email dated February 28, 2022, NSE and BSE
were directed to disseminate the SEBI letter dated September 16, 2021
captioned ‘Forensic Audit Assignment in the matter of BGL’, pursuant to
which, both the stock exchanges disseminated the aforementioned
information on February 28, 2022, post trading hours on the stock exchange’s
website.
103. BGL, in response to the above, on February 28, 2022 after the disclosures
by the exchanges, inter-alia submitted the following clarifications to the
exchanges:
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 35 of 77
a) ‘On September 16, 2021, approximately five months ago, we received a
letter from the Securities & Exchange Board of India, dated September
16, 2021, wherein they appointed a forensic auditor.
b) The company represented to SEBI that the said audit was unnecessary
because several internet companies had to take such charges globally,
owing to the GDPR norms. However, SEBI on 25th February 2022
(Friday) intimated the company that this audit would be necessary.
Accordingly, we are notifying the Exchanges.
c) The Company is committed to extending its total cooperation in this
regard, to the Regulator and Auditor.
d) The Company shall inform the exchanges of any further developments in
the matter.’
104. The above observations show that there was a substantial delay of 165 days
in making the disclosure and that the Company had provided clarifications to
the exchanges on February 28, 2022 only after disclosures were made by the
exchanges pursuant to directions issued by SEBI. Accordingly, it was
observed that the Company had failed to comply with Regulation 30 (1), (2)
and (6) read with Clause 17 Schedule III Para A of Part A of SEBI (LODR)
Regulations, 2015.
106. Vide email dated March 16, 2022, a response was sought from BGL on the
significant differences in the promoter/public shareholding disclosed on the
stock exchange website vis-à-vis the holding statement as per RTA and
depositories for the period March 2020 to Sep 2020. In response, BGL vide
letter dated March 21, 2022 had submitted the following-
107. Subsequent to the above, information was also sought from depositories vide
email dated March 23, 2022 regarding encumbrances marked against the
shares held by promoters of BGL. In response, the depositories submitted
that except for 4 demat accounts, none of the demat accounts had any
encumbrance. Further, on the said 4 demat accounts, the encumbrance was
in the form of suspension (Debit)/account freeze, pursuant to SEBI directions
issued in 2019 for violating PIT Regulations.
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108. From the above, it was observed that the promoters had referred to the off
market transfers done from their Demat accounts as pledge of shares.
However, as per SEBI master circular for Depositories dated October 25,
2019, ‘…an off-market transfer of shares leads to change in ownership
and cannot be treated as pledge’. Accordingly, the submissions of the
Company were found to be untenable. In fact, there appeared to be a
deliberate attempt to disclose incorrect shareholding pattern. It was also
noted that neither BGL nor promoters had made any disclosures under SEBI
(Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 and
SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 (“PIT Regulations,
2015”) in respect of shares pledged/invoked/transferred.
109. With regard to the above, NSE had also sought clarifications from the
Company. However, the Company provided incomplete and unsatisfactory to
the NSE. Further, it also failed to provide further clarifications sought by NSE.
Subsequently, NSE disseminated the following information to the market vide
on December 16, 2022 in the Corporate Announcements section of its
website:
“The Exchange has been seeking various clarifications from Brightcom Group
Ltd. ('Company') against a complaint from investor and response received
from Company was unsatisfactory and incomplete. On the basis of aforesaid,
the Company is required to provide satisfactory and complete response. The
response from the Company is awaited.”
110. As per section 10(1)(3) of the Depositories Act, 1996, a beneficial owner is
entitled to all the rights and benefits and be subjected to all the liabilities in
respect of his securities held by a depository. Considering the same, the claim
of the Company that despite promoters transferring the shares to lenders, the
promoters remained beneficial owners and held the voting rights of the
shares was found to be untenable. This also casts doubt on the voting results
of the various general meetings (including postal ballot) published under
clause 35A of the erstwhile Listing Agreement and Regulation 44(3) of the
SEBI(LODR) Regulations, 2015 and the scrutinizers report under Section 109
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of the Companies Act, 2013 and Rule 21(2) of the Companies (Management
and Administration) Rules, 2014.
111. The RTA of a company acts as an agent of that company and is entrusted
with the responsibility of maintaining records on behalf of that company,
which include list of holders of securities of such company. RTAs compile all
the information related to shares held in physical as well as in dematerialized
form. The shareholding pattern filed by BGL under clause 35 of the erstwhile
Listing Agreement (up to November 30, 2015) and Regulation 31 of SEBI
(LODR) Regulations, 2015 (w.e.f. December 01, 2015) should have been
sourced from the data maintained by RTA. However, even though the
shareholding data of RTA was consistent with that of Depositories, it
appeared that Company had deliberately misrepresented its shareholders’
data. The company intentionally concealed the material information i.e., the
actual shareholding pattern and the quantity of shares encumbered, from the
public shareholders to mislead & deceive the public/shareholders of the
Company at large. The same was in violation of Clause 35 of the erstwhile
Listing Agreement (up to November 30, 2015) and Regulation 4(1) (c), (h),
31(1)(b) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 read with SEBI circular no.
CIR/CFD/CMD/13/2015 dated November 30, 2015 (w.e.f December 01,
2015).
114. In view of the above, it was found that BGL had made a wrong and misleading
corporate announcement, thereby violating Regulation 4(1)(c) & (h) of SEBI
(LODR) Regulations, 2015.
116. However, it was observed that the quarterly consolidated results for the FY
2019-20 reviewed by the statutory auditors and the details of results were not
subjected to audit/Ltd. review, as required under the abovementioned
provision. A summary of such results is provided below:
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 40 of 77
% Total Assets not reviewed Not
Not Ascertainable 94.93% 93.55%
/audited J=G/C Ascertainable
117. It was therefore found that BGL had violated Regulation 33(3)(h) of SEBI
(LODR) Regulations, 2015.
119. Subsequently, the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on
December 27, 2016 appointed Mr. Raghunath Allamsetty as Additional
Director (Non-Executive-Independent) w.e.f December 27, 2016 till the
conclusion of the forthcoming Annual General Meeting of the Company.
Thereafter, he was appointed as independent Director at AGM held on
September 27, 2017 till December 26, 2021.
121. Based on the above material, the tenure of Mr. Raghunath Allamsetty, as
Director of the Company, is tabulated below:
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 41 of 77
3 27-Dec-2016 27- Sep-2017 Independent Board of Directors as Additional Director
under Section 165(1) of the Companies Act
2013
4 27- Sep-2017 26- Dec-2021 Independent Shareholders at by way of Special Resolution
in AGM dated September 27, 2017
122. Section 150(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 provides that “the appointment of
independent director shall be approved by the company in general
meeting as provided in sub-section (2) of section 152”. Section 152(2) of the
Act mandates that “save as otherwise expressly provided in the Act, every
director shall be appointed by the company in general meeting.” Further,
Schedule IV of the Companies Act, 2013 provides that “appointment process
of independent Directors shall be independent of the company
management” and “The appointment of independent director(s) of the
company shall be approved at the meeting of the shareholders.”
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Interim Order cum Show Cause Notice in the matter of Brightcom Group Ltd. Page 42 of 77
124. In this context, it is imperative to note that an Independent Director cannot be
reappointed by the Board of Directors of a company for a second term once
his first term is over, unless a special resolution was passed by the Company
and a disclosure of such appointment was made in the Board’s report, as
required by Section 149(10) of the Companies Act, 2013 which provides that
“Subject to the provisions of section 152, an independent director shall hold
office for a term up to five consecutive years on the Board of a company, but
shall be eligible for reappointment on passing of a special resolution by the
company and disclosure of such appointment in the Board's report.”
125. Since in the instant case, the shareholders’ approval by special resolution for
re-appointment for second term was not taken as on the last date of the first
term ending on September 29, 2015, the re-appointment of Mr. Raghunath
by the board as an additional director for the second term was not in
accordance with the law. Accordingly, the Allamsetty Raghunath could not be
considered as independent director for the period between December 27,
2016 to September 26, 2017.
126. Further, as per Regulation 16(1)(b) of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015,
one of the conditions for appointment as independent director is that such
person’s relatives should not be an employee of the listed entity or its holding,
subsidiary or associate company. A similar provision existed in Clause 49IIB
of the erstwhile Listing Agreement w.e.f. October 1, 2014 till SEBI (LODR)
Regulations, 2015 came into force from December 1, 2015.
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128. Further, Ms. Aishwarya vide email dated April 27, 2022 shared with SEBI her
employment certificate dated May 24, 2019 issued by M/s. LIL Projects
Private Ltd., as per which she was employed as Lead-Corporate
Communications with that company from September 11, 2018 to May 24,
2019. It was found that M/s. LIL Projects Private Ltd. was a subsidiary of
Brightcom Group Ltd..
131. The Company vide letter dated August 02, 2022 had furnished the list of its
material subsidiaries for each of the Financial Years during the investigation
period, which is given below:
Material Subsidiaries
Sl. No. FY15 FY16 FY17 FY18 FY19 FY20
Online Media Online Media Online Media Online Media Online Media Online Media
1 Solutions Solutions Solutions Solutions Solutions Solutions
Frontier Data Frontier Data Frontier Data Frontier Data Frontier Data Frontier Data
2 Management Management Management Management Management Management
132. From the page no.3 of annual report of BGL for the FY 2019-20 where the list
of subsidiaries was given, it was seen that Online Media Solutions Ltd. was
an Israeli Company and two companies, viz. Frontier Data Management and
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International Expressions Inc., were based out USA. It was thus seen that
during the entire period, the Company had only overseas subsidiaries as
material subsidiaries. With effect from April 01, 2019, the requirement of
having an independent director on the board of directors of the listed entity
on the board of directors of an unlisted material overseas subsidiary was
introduced in Regulation 24(i) of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015. In this
regard, the Company had provided the following list of directors of its material
overseas subsidiaries.
133. However, it was found that none of the abovementioned directors of the
overseas subsidiaries was an Independent Director on the Board of BGL.
Accordingly, BGL had violated the Regulation 24(1) of SEBI (LODR)
Regulations, 2015.
135. Mr. Suresh Kumar Reddy, in his statement dated March 17, 2022 to SEBI,
when asked to give reasons for the above non-compliance, stated that “There
was a legal matter in the Lycos acquisition case, where in the detailed
breakup of the financials was causing difficulty in negotiation with the other
party. That was the reasons we did not put forth detailed subsidiary
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financials”. Mr. Suresh Kumar Reddy further confirmed that the Company had
not sought exemption from SEBI from the applicability of Regulation 46 of
SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015 in respect of the above.
136. In view of the above, BGL had violated of 4(1)(d),(g),(h),(i),(j) & 46(2) SEBI
(LODR) Regulations 2015 and the same is continuing till date.
“We would like to submit that in order to create and maintain the Structured
Digital Database, a separate software is needed and the Registrar and
Transfer Agent of the Company who maintains the details of shareholding
including the BENPOS files is required to input data into the software. Due to
certain unavoidable circumstances, the software for this purpose could not
be procured and the server could not be installed at our Registered Office.
We were also not able to identify third party providers to create and maintain
the Structured Digital Database at Hyderabad.
We have now arranged to procure the necessary software and to input data
and to set up and maintain servers at our registered office.
It may be noted that Brightcom Group is a Multinational Company with
business and operations in 25 countries and a market leader in ad tech space
with clients who include Fortune 50 companies such as Sony, Viacom,
Samsung, British Airways; since various jurisdictions have different
compliance requirements and need separate software, the delay in setting up
the Structured Digital Database is only on account of the complexity in our
overall compliance requirements. “
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138. From the above response of the Company, it was clear that the board of
directors of the Company had not ensured the implementation of
maintenance of SDD containing the names of such persons or entities with
whom UPSI was shared, which was a legal requirement w.e.f April 1, 2019.
The reasons provided by the company for non-maintaining such SDD were
not tenable as the obligation to maintain such a database was on the Board
of Directors of the Company. The Company’s contention that RTA was
required to input data was without any merit. Further, the Company’s
explanation that it was not able to identify third-party providers to create and
maintain the Structured Digital Database at Hyderabad was also untenable
for the reason that as per Regulation 3(5) of the PIT Regulations, 2015, such
database cannot be outsourced and has to be maintained internally. Further,
it was immaterial whether the Company was functioning within India or an
MNC operating across the globe, as the compliance requirements are same
for all the listed entities in India in respect of maintenance of SDD.
139. In view of the above, the board of directors of the Company had failed to
comply with Regulation 3(5) of SEBI (PIT) Regulations 2015.
S. Summary of Findings:
140. A summary of the abovementioned findings of investigation is as follows:
(a) BGL wrongly capitalized expenditure incurred during the research phase and
research-cum-development phase (the phase in which BGL could not
distinguish the research phase from the development phase) of the creation
of intangible assets which resulted in non-compliance with Accounting
Standard 26 (FY 2014-15 & 2015-16) and Ind AS 38 (FY 2016-17 to FY 2019-
20). This led to an understatement of expenditure and overstatement of Profit
before Tax and Profit After Tax during the respective financial years.
(b) BGL did not recognize the impairment loss w.r.t. its investment in its
subsidiary, despite indication of impairment during the FYs 2018-19 & 2019-
20, which resulted in non-compliance with requirements of Ind AS 36. This led
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to an understatement of expenditure and overstatement of Profit before Tax
and Profit After Tax during the FYs 2018-19 & 2019-20.
(c) BGL recognized impairment of assets of Rs. 411.76 Crore and Rs. 868.30
Crores under Other Comprehensive Income instead of recognizing the same
in profit or loss in the financial statements for the FYs 2018-19 and 2019-20
respectively, which resulted in non-compliance with Ind AS 36 leading to an
understatement of expenditure and overstatement of Profit before Tax and
Profit After Tax. Further, BGL in its financial statements for the FYs 2018-19
and 2019-20 did not disclose the events and circumstances that had led to
the recognition of said impairment losses, which resulted in non-compliance
with Ind AS 36.
(d) The practice of BGL transferring “Intangible Assets Under Development” and
“Capital Work-in-Progress” to Intangible Assets once in a year instead of as
and when the asset recognition criteria was met, resulted in non-compliance
with Accounting Standard 26 (FY 2014-15 & 2015-16) and Ind AS 38 (FY
2016-17 to FY 2019-20).
(f) BGL did not disclose the fact of the initiation of forensic audit to stock
exchanges and hence, violated Regulation 30 (1), (2) and (6) read with Clause
17 Schedule III Para A of Part A SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015.
(g) BGL submitted incorrect and misleading quarterly shareholding pattern to the
stock exchanges for 31 out of 34 quarters during March 31, 2014 to June 30,
2022 and hence, violated Clause 35 of the erstwhile Listing Agreement (up to
November 30, 2015) and Regulation 4(1) (c), (h), 31(1)(b) of SEBI LODR
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Regulations, 2015 read with SEBI circular no. CIR/CFD/CMD/13/2015 dated
November 30, 2015 (w.e.f. December 01, 2015).
(h) BGL issued a false and misleading press release on April 10, 2018 w.r.t
appointment of internal auditor and hence violated Regulation 4(1)(c) & (h) of
SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015.
(i) BGL did not ensure that, for the purposes of quarterly consolidated financial
results, at least eighty percent of each of the consolidated revenue, assets
and profits, respectively, were subjected to audit or in case of unaudited
results, subjected to Ltd. review for the quarters ending June 30, 2019,
September 30, 2019, December 31, 2019 and March 31, 2020 and hence,
violated Regulation 33(3)(h) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015.
(j) BGL did not ensure that the constitution of its Audit Committee w.e.f. October
01, 2014 was in accordance with the regulatory requirements and hence
violated Regulation 18(1)(b) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015.
(k) BGL did not appoint at least one independent director from its board as a
director on the board of directors of its three unlisted material subsidiaries and
hence, violated Regulation 24(1) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015.
(l) BGL did not publish the standalone financial statements of its subsidiaries on
its website and hence violated of 4(1)(d),(g),(h),(i),(j) & 46(2) SEBI (LODR)
Regulations, 2015.
(m) BGL did not make disclosures in respect of the impact of introduction of GDPR
on the functioning of the Company and hence, violated Regulation 30 r/w
Clause 7 of Para B of Part A of Schedule III of SEBI (LODR) Regulations
2015.
(n) BGL did not make disclosure in respect of introduction of GDPR as Threats,
Outlook, Risks or Concerns in Management Discussion and Analysis and
hence violated Regulation 34(2)(3) & Schedule V SEBI (LODR) Regulations
2015.
(o) The aforesaid violations of various Clauses / provisions of the erstwhile Listing
Agreement and SEBI (LODR) Regulations 2015 also led to violations of
Section 21 of Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956.
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T. Impact on the price of the scrip
141. The price-volume chart of the scrip of BGL at BSE during the investigation
period is given below:
80.00 1,60,00,000
60.00 1,20,00,000
40.00 80,00,000
20.00 40,00,000
0.00 -
16-Oct-14
19-Oct-16
15-Oct-18
19-Mar-15
14-May-14
18-May-16
20-Mar-17
15-May-18
15-Mar-19
01-Apr-14
29-Apr-15
19-Jun-14
05-Jun-15
14-Dec-15
07-Apr-16
23-Jun-16
27-Apr-17
05-Jun-17
11-Dec-17
06-Apr-18
20-Jun-18
25-Apr-19
04-Jun-19
16-Dec-19
26-Nov-14
04-Nov-15
25-Nov-16
03-Nov-17
22-Nov-18
07-Nov-19
02-Jan-15
20-Jan-16
02-Jan-17
17-Jan-18
01-Jan-19
22-Jan-20
25-Jul-14
13-Jul-15
12-Jul-17
26-Jul-18
11-Jul-19
24-Sep-15
26-Feb-16
08-Sep-16
08-Feb-17
26-Sep-17
26-Feb-18
04-Sep-18
06-Feb-19
04-Sep-14
10-Feb-15
27-Sep-19
27-Feb-20
18-Aug-17
20-Aug-19
18-Aug-15
01-Aug-16
142. From the above chart, it is apparent that from September 30, 2014, the share
price of BGL had generally declined over a period of time. Had the Company
not resorted to accounting irregularities, as detailed above, the Company’s
actual profits would have been significantly lesser from the reported profits.
Further, the assets and reserves would also be significantly different from
what were disclosed in the balance sheet. The same would have led to a
much steeper decline in the share prices. The accounting irregularities, due
to which the Company could paint a rosy picture of its financials, can be said
to have impacted the decision-making process for all stakeholders including
public shareholders of BGL who were oblivious to such accounting
irregularities. It is also worth noting that during the investigation period, the
promoters’ shareholding in BGL decreased from 40.45% on March 31, 2014
to 13.96% on March 31, 2020 and further to 3.51% as on June 30, 2022. The
promoters thus offloaded shares at prices which were artificially propped up
by showing higher profits through accounting irregularities.
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4(1) and 4(2)(f), (k) & (r) of SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade
Practices Relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003 [SEBI (PFUTP)
Regulations, 2003] read with12A (b) & (c) of SEBI Act, 1992.
U. Role of Mr. M. Suresh Kumar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director &
Promoter and Mr. Vijay Kancharla, Whole Time Director & Promoter
144. Mr. M. Suresh Kumar Reddy is associated with BGL as Chairman and
Managing Director since June 26, 2012. Further, he is one of the promoters
of the Company. He had also signed the financial statements and CEO/CFO
Certification for all the financial years during the investigation period. He was
also a Key Managerial Personnel (“KMP”) of the Company, as per the
Companies Act, 2013. Mr. M. Suresh Kumar Reddy has also attended all the
board meetings of BGL during the investigation period. Further, all the board
meetings of 7 out of 10 subsidiaries of the Company, which recorded
impairment in FY 2019-20, were attended by Mr. M. Suresh Kumar Reddy.
(Minutes of the remaining three subsidiaries were not provided)
145. Mr. Vijay Kancharla is associated with BGL as a Whole Time Director since
June 26, 2012. He is also one of the promoters of the Company. He had also
signed the financial statements during the investigation period. He was also
a KMP of the Company as per the Companies Act, 2013. Mr. Vijay Kancharla
was also a member of Audit Committee during the investigation period. He
had attended many of the board meetings and audit committee meetings of
BGL during the investigation period. Further, he was also one of the directors
on board of all the subsidiaries that recorded impairment during the
investigation period and attended all the board meetings of 7 out of 10
subsidiaries during the investigation period that recorded impairment in FY
2019-20. (Minutes of the remaining three subsidiaries were not provided)
146. The role of the Board of directors of any company is very crucial as any
company acts through its Board of Directors. As envisaged under Regulation
4(2) (f) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, the board of directors is inter alia
required to ensure integrity of the listed entity’s accounting and financial
reporting systems and oversee the process of disclosure and
communications. Being the Chairman and Managing Director of BGL &
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Executive Director, Mr. M. Suresh Kumar Reddy and Mr. Vijay Kancharla
were in charge of, and were responsible to, the Company for the conduct of
its business. It was their responsibility to ensure that the Company’s financial
statements presented a true and fair picture of the Company’s state of
financial affairs as they were involved in day-to-day affairs of BGL and its
subsidiaries and they had approved and authenticated all the financial results
of the listed entity filed during the investigation period. Accordingly, they are
liable under Section 27(1) of SEBI Act, 1992, for the contraventions done by
the Company.
147. Further, these directors had failed to ensure the implementation and of
maintenance of SDD containing the names of such persons or entities with
whom UPSI was shared, as required w.e.f April 01, 2019, thereby violating
Regulation 3(5) of SEBI (PIT) Regulations 2015.
148. In view of the above, these directors are responsible for the all the violations
committed by BGL during the investigation period, in terms of Section 27 of
SEBI Act, 1992 and Section 24 of SCRA, 1956. Further, they also failed to
perform the duties and obligations required to perform as Executive Directors
under clauses 49 (I)(C)(1)(a), 49(I)(D)(1)(b), (2)(b)(h) and 50 of the erstwhile
listing agreement (For the FY 2014-15) and Regulations 4(2)(f)(i)(2),
4(2)(f)(ii)(2)(7)(8), 4(2)(f)(iii)(1)(2)(3)(6)(7)(12) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations,
2015 (For the FYs 2015-16 to FY 2019-20).
150. Mr. Vijay Kancharla, as a member of the audit committee during the
investigation period, had failed to ensure that the published financial
statements were in accordance with the applicable accounting standards and
presented a true and fair view of the Company's affairs, and hence failed to
discharge his duties, as required under Regulation 18(3) read with Part C of
Schedule II of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.
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V. Role of Mr. Y Ramesh Reddy, Independent Director, Member of Audit
Committee, Group CFO and Executive Director:
151. Mr. Y Ramesh Reddy was associated with BGL in multiple roles, as given
below:
Role From To
Independent Director & Audit Committee Member 26/06/2012 09/05/2016
Executive Director 09/05/2016 20/04/2017
Group CFO 09/05/2016 08/05/2021
152. He was also a signatory to the Financial Statements for the FY 2015-16. He
had attended 19 out of 20 board meetings and all the eight audit committee
meetings held during his tenure, covered by the investigation period. He was
also a KMP of the Company, as per the disclosure made in Annual Report of
BGL for the FY 2016-17. As disclosed in the Annual Report of BGL for the
FY 2015-16, his responsibilities included corporate finance, mergers and
acquisitions, corporate planning, risk management and investor relations.
Accordingly, as an executive director and KMP, he was responsible for the
all the violations committed by BGL during his tenure, in terms of Section 27
of SEBI Act, 1992 and Section 24 of SCRA, 1956. Further, he also failed to
perform the duties and obligations required to perform as Executive Directors
under Regulations 4(2)(f)(i)(2), 4(2)(f)(ii)(2)(7)(8), 4(2)(f)(iii)(1)(2)(3)(6)(7)(12)
of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.
153. Mr. Y. Ramesh Reddy, as a member of the audit committee during the
investigation period, had failed to ensure that the published financial
statements were in accordance with the applicable accounting standards and
presented a true and fair view of the Company's affairs, and hence failed to
discharge his duties, as required under Clause 49 III D of the erstwhile Listing
Agreement and Regulation 18(3) read with Part C of Schedule II of the SEBI
(LODR) Regulations, 2015.
154. Mr. Y. Ramesh Reddy was also the Group CFO of the Company from May
09, 2016 to May 08, 2021. A CFO, as a person heading and discharging the
finance function of the listed entity, is expected to exercise due care and
diligence in ensuring that the transactions are genuine and that they are in
the best interests of a company, including the minority shareholders of that
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company. Therefore, Mr. Y Ramesh Reddy was expected to exercise the
powers in bona fide manner and in the interest of all stakeholders of the
Company. However, he failed to discharge the responsibilities required under
Regulations 4(2)(f)(i)(2) of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015. Accordingly, he
was liable for the contraventions done by the Company, in terms of Section
27 (2) of the SEBI Act 1992 and Section 24 of SCRA, 1956.
155. Mr. Y Srinivasa Rao was associated with BGL as CFO, throughout the
investigation period. He was also signatory to the Financial Statements and
CEO/CFO certification for all the financial years during the investigation
period. He was also a KMP of the Company, as per the Companies Act, 2013.
As CFO, he was expected to exercise the powers in bona fide manner and in
the interest of all stakeholders of the Company. However, he failed to
discharge the responsibilities required under Regulations 4(2)(f)(i)(2) of SEBI
(LODR) Regulations, 2015. Accordingly, he was liable for all the
contraventions done by the Company, in terms of Section 27 of the SEBI Act
1992 and Section 24 of SCRA, 1956.
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P Murali & Co P.Murali Unqualified Unqualified
2016-17 Mohana Rao
(023412)
PCN & Chandra Babu M Unqualified Unqualified
2017-18
Associates (227849)
PCN & Chandra Babu M Unqualified Unqualified
2018-19
Associates (227849)
2019-20 PCN & K Gopala Unqualified Unqualified
Associates Krishna
(203605)
158. As already observed above, the financial statements of BGL during the
Investigation period were not prepared and presented in accordance with
various prescribed accounting standards. However, it was observed that the
auditors for various years did not issuing a qualified / adverse / disclaimer of
opinion on the financial statements of BGL in accordance with Standard on
Auditing (SA) 700(Revised), “Forming an Opinion and Reporting on Financial
Statements”.
159. Further, as per the Auditor’s Report for the FYs 2018-19 & 2019-20, the
Company was having branch operations at USA. In terms of Section 143
(3)(b), (c) & (d) of the Companies Act, 2013, the Auditor’s Report had to
provide certain statements / disclosures in respect of books of account and
audit of such branch. However, on perusal of the Statutory Auditor’s reports
for the FY 2018-19 & 2019-20, it was observed no such disclosures were
made about the audit of the branches.
160. Further, it was observed that Auditor’s Reports for FY 2018-19 and 2019-20
were silent on whether the subsidiaries and branches not audited by the
auditor were audited by other auditors or unaudited, though the auditors were
required to do so under SA700. Further, whether such branches and
subsidiaries were material to the financial statements of the entity/
consolidated financial statements of the Group was not brought out in the
Auditor’s Reports.
161. As per the provisions related to the rotation of statutory auditors under Rule
6(3) of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 read with Section
139 of Companies Act, 2013, the incoming auditor or audit firm shall not be
eligible for appointment if such auditor or audit firm is associated with the
outgoing auditor or is an audit firm under the same network of audit firms.
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However, it was observed that PCN & Associates, the auditor for FY 2017-
18 to 2019-20 was associated with P Murali & Co, the previous auditor. The
details of such association are as under:
(a) As per the statement of Chandra Babu M, Partner of PCN & Associates,
recorded before IA, he was associated with P Murali & Co as a
consultant during 2011-2015.
(b) As per the website of PCN & Associates, two of its partners, viz. CA
Naveen Madivada and CA Lakshmi Prasanthi, did their CA articleship
in M/s.P.Murali & Co.
162. As per Section 141(3)(e) of the Companies Act, 2013 which deals with the
eligibility, qualifications and disqualifications of auditors, a person or a firm
who, whether directly or indirectly, has business relationship (any transaction
entered into for a commercial purpose) with the company, or its subsidiary,
or its holding or associate company or subsidiary of such holding company
or associate company, shall not be eligible for appointment as an auditor of
a company.
163. In the instant case, it was observed from the annual reports of the Company
that M/s. Aarthi Consultants Private Limited, the Registrar and Share Transfer
Agent (RTA) of the Company since 2000-2001, was associated with
Potukuchi Murali Mohan Rao, the partner of P Murali & Co. in the following
ways:
(a) Potukuchi Naga Nandini, wife of P Murali Mohan Rao is one of the
subscribers to Memorandum of Association of M/s.Aarthi Consultants
Private Limited and also one of its promoters.
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Pluto Mines And Minerals LLP, Palace Heights Avenues LLP and A M
N Hotels LLP where Potukuchi Murali Mohan Rao is a designated
partner.
(e) The shareholders of M/s. Aarthi Consultants Private Limited were found
to be related to P Murali Mohana Rao.
164. Further, it was also observed that BGL had allotted 45,00,000 shares of Face
Value of Rs. 2 each at Rs.7.7 per share in preferential issue to M/s. Palace
Heights Avenues LLP, on July 23, 2021. From the LLP Agreement dated
June 2020, it was seen that 100% of the Capital of the LLP was contributed
by P Murali Mohana Rao and his wife P Naganandini. The same was in
violation of Section 141(3)(d)) of the Companies Act, 2013, which prohibits a
relative of an auditor from holding securities in the company of face value
exceeding rupees one lakh.
165. In view of the above observations, P Murali & Co prima facie appeared to be
ineligible to be appointed as Statutory Auditors of BGL for period under
investigation. However, M/s.P Murali & Co. was not only appointed as auditor
of BGL till FY2016-17, it was reappointed as the Statutory Auditors of the
Company for a term of five consecutive years commencing from the
conclusion of the 23rd Annual General Meeting held on September 30, 2022
up to the conclusion of the 28th Annual General Meeting.
166. The relevant provisions of SEBI Act, 1992, and SEBI (PFUTP) Regulations,
2003, SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, SEBI (PIT) Regulations, 2015, Listing
Agreement and SCRA, 1956 are reproduced hereunder for ready reference:
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(b) employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud in connection with issue or
dealing in securities which are listed or proposed to be listed on a recognised
stock exchange;
(c) engage in any act, practice, course of business which operates or would
operate as fraud or deceit upon any person, in connection with the issue, dealing
in securities which are listed or proposed to be listed on a recognised stock
exchange, in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules or the
regulations made thereunder;
Sec 15A. If any person, who is required under this Act or any rules or
regulations made thereunder, —
(b) to file any return or furnish any information, books or other documents within
the time specified therefor in the regulations, fails to file return or furnish the
same within the time specified therefor in the regulations or who furnishes or
files false, incorrect or incomplete information, return, report, books or other
documents, he shall be liable to a penalty which shall not be less than one lakh
rupees but which may extend to one lakh rupees for each day during which
such failure continues subject to a maximum of one crore rupees.
(c) to maintain books of account or records, fails to maintain the same, he shall
be liable to a penalty which shall not be less than one lakh rupees but which
may extend to one lakh rupees for each day during which such failure
continues subject to a maximum of one crore rupees.
Sec 15HA. Penalty for fraudulent and unfair trade practices.
If any person indulges in fraudulent and unfair trade practices relating to
securities, he shall be liable to a penalty which shall not be less than five lakh
rupees but which may extend to twenty-five crore rupees or three times the
amount of profits made out of such practices, whichever is higher.
Sec 15HB. Penalty for contravention where no separate penalty has been
provided.
Whoever fails to comply with any provision of this Act, the rules or the regulations
made or directions issued by the Board thereunder for which no separate penalty
has been provided, shall be liable to a penalty which shall not be less than one
lakh rupees but which may extend to one crore rupees.
Contravention by companies:
Sec. 27(1): Where a contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or any rule,
regulation, direction or order made thereunder has been committed by a company,
every person who at the time the contravention was committed was in charge of,
and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the
company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the
contravention and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished
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accordingly: Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any
such person liable to any punishment provided in this Act, if he proves that the
contravention was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all
due diligence to prevent the commission of such contravention
Sec 27(2): Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an
contravention under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved
that the contravention has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or
is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or
other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer
shall also be deemed to be guilty of the contravention and shall be liable to be
proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Explanation: For the purposes of this section, — (a) “company” means any body-
corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and (b) “director”,
in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956:
21. Where securities are listed on the application of any person in any recognised
stock exchange, such person shall comply with the conditions of the listing
agreement with that stock exchange
23H. Whoever fails to comply with any provision of this Act, the rules or articles or
bye- laws or the regulations of the recognised stock exchange or directions issued
by the Securities and Exchange Board of India for which no separate penalty has
been provided, shall be liable to a penalty which shall not be less than one lakh
rupees but which may extend to one crore rupees.
SEBI (PFUTP) Regulations, 2003
3. Prohibition of certain dealings in securities
No person shall directly or indirectly –
(c) employ any device, scheme or artifice to defraud in connection with dealing in
or issue of securities which are listed or proposed to be listed on a recognized
stock exchange;
(d) engage in any act, practice, course of business which operates or would
operate as fraud or deceit upon any person in connection with any dealing in or
issue of securities which are listed or proposed to be listed on a recognized stock
exchange in contravention of the provisions of the Act or the rules and the
regulations made there under.
4. Prohibition of manipulative, fraudulent and unfair trade practices
(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of Regulation 3, no person shall indulge in
a manipulative, fraudulent or an unfair trade practice in securities markets.
Explanation – For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that any act of
diversion, misutilisation or siphoning off of assets or earnings of a company whose
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securities are listed or any concealment of such act or any device, scheme or
artifice to manipulate the books of accounts or financial statement of such a
company that would directly or indirectly manipulate the price of securities of that
company shall be and shall always be deemed to have been considered as
manipulative, fraudulent and an unfair trade practice in the securities market.
(2) Dealing in securities shall be deemed to be a manipulative, fraudulent or an
unfair trade practice if it involves any of the following: —
(f) knowingly publishing or causing to publish or reporting or causing to report by
a person dealing in securities any information relating to securities, including
financial results, financial statements, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory
approvals, which is not true or which he does not believe to be true prior to or in
the course of dealing in securities;
(k) disseminating information or advice through any media, whether physical or
digital, which the disseminator knows to be false or misleading and which is
designed or likely to influence the decision of investors dealing in securities;
(r) knowingly planting false or misleading news which may induce sale or
purchase of securities
Clauses of erstwhile Listing Agreement:
35. “The company agrees to file with the exchange the following details,
separately for each class of equity shares/security in the formats specified in this
clause, in compliance with the following timelines, namely:-
a. One day prior to listing of its securities on the stock exchanges.
b. On a quarterly basis, within 21 days from the end of each quarter.
c. Within 10 days of any capital restructuring of the company resulting in a change
exceeding +/-2%
of the total paid-up share capital”
(I)(a) Statement showing Shareholding Pattern
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D. Responsibilities of the Board
1. Disclosure of Information
b. The Board and top management should conduct themselves so as to meet
the expectations of operational transparency to stakeholders while at the same
time maintaining confidentiality of information in order to foster a culture for
good decision-making.
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4. (1) The listed entity which has listed securities shall make disclosures and abide
by its obligations under these regulations, in accordance with the following
principles:
(a) Information shall be prepared and disclosed in accordance with applicable
standards of accounting and financial disclosure.
(b) The listed entity shall implement the prescribed accounting standards in letter
and spirit in the preparation of financial statements taking into consideration the
interest of all stakeholders and shall also ensure that the annual audit is conducted
by an independent, competent and qualified auditor.
(c) The listed entity shall refrain from misrepresentation and ensure that the
information provided to recognised stock exchange(s) and investors is not
misleading.
(d) The listed entity shall provide adequate and timely information to recognised
stock exchange(s) and investors.
(e) The listed entity shall ensure that disseminations made under provisions of
these regulations and circulars made thereunder, are adequate, accurate, explicit,
timely and presented in a simple language.
(g)The listed entity shall abide by all the provisions of the applicable laws including
the securities laws and also such other guidelines as may be issued from time to
time by the Board and the recognised stock exchange(s) in this regard and as
may be applicable.
(h) The listed entity shall make the specified disclosures and follow its obligations
in letter and spirit taking into consideration the interest of all stakeholders.
(i) Filings, reports, statements, documents and information which are event based
or are filed periodically shall contain relevant information.
(j) Periodic filings, reports, statements, documents and information reports shall
contain information that shall enable investors to track the performance of a listed
entity over regular intervals of time and shall provide sufficient information to
enable investors to assess the current status of a listed entity.
(2) The listed entity which has listed its specified securities shall comply with the
corporate governance provisions as specified in chapter IV which shall be
implemented in a manner so as to achieve the objectives of the principles as
mentioned below.
(e) Disclosure and transparency: The listed entity shall ensure timely and
accurate disclosure on all material matters including the financial situation,
performance, ownership, and governance of the listed entity, in the following
manner:
(i) Information shall be prepared and disclosed in accordance with the prescribed
standards of accounting, financial and non-financial disclosure.
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4. (2) (f) Responsibilities of the Board of Directors:
(i) Disclosure of information:
(2) The board of directors and senior management shall conduct themselves so
as to meet the expectations of operational transparency to stakeholders while at
the same time maintaining confidentiality of information in order to foster a culture
of good decision-making.
(ii) Key functions of the Board of Directors –
(2) Monitoring the effectiveness of the listed entity’s governance practices and
making changes as needed.
(7) Ensuring the integrity of the listed entity’s accounting and financial reporting
systems, including the independent audit, and that appropriate systems of control
are in place, in particular, systems for risk management, financial and operational
control, and compliance with the law and relevant standards.
(8) Overseeing the process of disclosure and communications.
(iii) Other responsibilities:
(1) The board of directors shall provide strategic guidance to the listed entity,
ensure effective monitoring of the management and shall be accountable to the
listed entity and the shareholders.
(2) The board of directors shall set a corporate culture and the values by which
executives throughout a group shall behave.
(3) Members of the board of directors shall act on a fully informed basis, in good
faith, with due diligence and care, and in the best interest of the listed entity and
the shareholders.
(6) The board of directors shall maintain high ethical standards and shall take into
account the interests of stakeholders
(7) The board of directors shall exercise objective independent judgement on
corporate affairs.
(12) Members of the board of directors shall be able to commit themselves
effectively to their responsibilities.
(1) The composition of board of directors of the listed entity shall be as follows:
(a) board of directors shall have an optimum combination of executive and non-
executive directors with at least one woman director and not less than fifty per
cent. of the board of directors shall comprise of non-executive directors;
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(b) where the chairperson of the board of directors is a non-executive director, at
least one-third of the board of directors shall comprise of independent directors
and where the listed entity does not have a regular non-executive chairperson, at
least half of the board of directors shall comprise of independent directors:
(8) The chief executive officer and the chief financial officer shall provide the
compliance certificate to the board of directors as specified in Part B of Schedule
II.
Audit Committee – Regulation 18
(1) Every listed entity shall constitute a qualified and independent audit committee
in accordance with the terms of reference, subject to the following:
(b) Two-thirds of the members of audit committee shall be independent directors
(3) The role of the audit committee and the information to be reviewed by the
audit committee shall be as specified in Part C of Schedule II.
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(f) disclosure of any related party transactions; (g)modified opinion(s) in the
draft audit report
(5) reviewing, with the management, the quarterly financial statements before
submission to the board for approval
(7) reviewing and monitoring the auditor’s independence and performance, and
effectiveness of audit process.
(11) evaluation of internal financial controls and risk management systems;
(12) reviewing, with the management, performance of statutory and internal
auditors, adequacy of the internal control systems;
(13) reviewing the adequacy of internal audit function, if any, including the
structure of the internal audit department, staffing and seniority of the official
heading the department, reporting structure coverage and frequency of internal
audit.
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(b)the omission of an event or information is likely to result in significant market
reaction if the said omission came to light at a later date;
(c)In case where the criteria specified in sub-clauses (a) and (b) are not
applicable, an event/information may be treated as being material if in the
opinion of the board of directors of listed entity, the event / information is
considered material.
(ii) The listed entity shall frame a policy for determination of materiality, based on
criteria specified in this sub-regulation, duly approved by its board of directors,
which shall be disclosed on its website.
(6) The listed entity shall first disclose to stock exchange(s) of all events, as
specified in Part A of Schedule III, or information as soon as reasonably possible
and not later than twenty four hours from the occurrence of event or information:
Provided that in case the disclosure is made after twenty four hours of occurrence
of the event or information, the listed entity shall, along with such disclosures
provide explanation for delay.
SCHEDULE III
PART A: DISCLOSURES OF EVENTS OR INFORMATION: SPECIFIED
SECURITIES
[See Regulation 30]
The following shall be events/information, upon occurrence of which listed entity
shall make disclosure to stock exchange(s):
31. (1) The listed entity shall submit to the stock exchange(s) a statement showing
holding of securities and shareholding pattern separately for each class of
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securities, in the format specified by the Board from time to time within the
following timelines -
(a) one day prior to listing of its securities on the stock exchange(s);
(b) on a quarterly basis, within twenty-one days from the end of each quarter; and,
(c) within ten days of any capital restructuring of the listed entity resulting in a
change exceeding two per cent of the total paid-up share capital:
33. (1) While preparing financial results, the listed entity shall comply with the
following:
(c) The standalone financial results and consolidated financial results shall be
prepared as per Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in India
(3) The listed entity shall submit the financial results in the following manner:
(h) The listed entity shall ensure that, for the purposes of quarterly consolidated
financial results, at least eighty percent of each of the consolidated revenue,
assets and profits, respectively, shall have been subject to audit or in case of
unaudited results, subjected to limited review.
Annual Report – Regulation 34(2):
The annual report shall contain the following:
(2) The listed entity shall disseminate the following information under a separate
section on its website:
(s) separate audited financial statements of each subsidiary of the listed entity in
respect of a relevant financial year, uploaded at least 21 days prior to the date of
the annual general meeting which has been called to inter alia consider accounts
of that financial year:
Provided that a listed entity, which has a subsidiary incorporated outside India—
(a) where such subsidiary is statutorily required to prepare consolidated financial
statement under any law of the country of its incorporation, the requirement of this
proviso shall be met if consolidated financial statement of such subsidiary is
placed on the website of the listed entity;
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(b) where such subsidiary is not required to get its financial statement audited
under any law of the country of its incorporation and which does not get such
financial statement audited, the holding Indian listed entity may place such
unaudited financial statement on its website and where such financial statement
is in a language other than English, a translated copy of the financial statement in
English shall also be placed on the website;
169. Further, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the matter of N. Narayanan
Vs. Adjudicating Officer, Securities and exchange Board of India (Civil Appeal
Nos 4112-12 of 2012- Date of Decision- April 26, 2013) , while emphasizing
on the adverse impact of incorrect information, has observed: “The object of
the SEBI Act is to protect the interest of investors in securities and to promote
the development and to regulate the securities market, so as to promote
orderly, healthy growth of securities market and to promote investors
protection. Securities market is based on free and open access to
information, the integrity of the market is predicated on the quality and the
manner on which it is made available to market. ‘Market abuse’ impairs
economic growth and erodes investor’s confidence. Market abuse refers to
the use of manipulative and deceptive devices, giving out incorrect or
misleading information, so as to encourage investors to jump into
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conclusions, on wrong premises, which is known to be wrong to the abusers.
The statutory provisions mentioned earlier deal with the situations where a
person, who deals in securities, takes advantage of the impact of an action,
may be manipulative, on the anticipated impact on the market resulting in the
“creation of artificiality’. The same can be achieved by inflating the company’s
revenue, profits, security deposits and receivables, resulting in price rice of
scrip of the company. Investors are then lured to make their “investment
decisions” on those manipulated inflated results, using the above devices
which will amount to market abuse.”
170. Further, Hon’ble SAT in the matter of V. Natarajan vs. SEBI, in Appeal No.104
of 2011 (order dated June 29, 2011), while holding the publication of false
and misleading financial statements as amounting to unfair trade practice,
has held that "… we are satisfied that the provisions of Regulations 3 and 4
of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and
Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003, were
violated. These regulations, among others, prohibit any person from
employing any device, scheme or artifice to defraud in connection with
dealing in or Issue of securities which are listed or proposed to be listed on
an exchange. They also prohibit persons from engaging in any act, practice,
course of business which operates or would operate as fraud or deceit upon
any person in connection with any dealing in or issue of securities that are
listed on stock exchanges. These regulations also prohibit persons from
indulging in a fraudulent or unfair trade practice in securities which includes
publishing any information which is not true or which he does not believe to
be true. Any advertisement that is misleading or contains information in a
distorted manner which may influence the decision of the investors is also an
unfair trade practice in securities which is prohibited. The regulations also
make it clear that planting false or misleading news which may induce the
public for selling or purchasing securities would also come within the ambit of
unfair trade practice in securities"
173. Apart from the above, it is also noted that the Promoter Group of the
Company has directly benefitted as a result of manipulation of financial
statements by the Company. In this regard, it is noted that during FY 2021-
22, BGL had made preferential allotment of equity shares to 79 allottees and
raised Rs.836.38 Crores. Such allottees included 4 entities which
subsequently became part of Promoter Group. By virtue of the same, the
shareholding of the promoters and promoter group of the Company now
stands at 18.47%, as on December 31, 2022. The abovementioned
preferential allotment was done at Rs.7.70 per share (face value of each
share was Rs.2). Subsequently, there were two bonus issues in the ratio of
1:4 and 2:3 during FY 2021-22, as a result of which the effective allotment for
the preferential allottees came to Rs.3.70 (approx.) per share. However, prior
to the abovementioned preferential allotment, the promoter group had sold
shares when the average price of the scrip was much higher than the effective
allotment price. Considering the same, it is apparent that the abovementioned
increase in shareholding by the promoters was achieved at price far below
the prices at which the promoters had offloaded a large percentage of their
shareholding through a purported pledge.
174. Having observed prima facie that Noticees have resorted to various
accounting irregularities and other violations, as already detailed above, it is
clear that the promoter group entities, by offloading their shares in BGL
throughout the investigation period and increasing their shareholding after
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the investigation period at a much lower price, have directly benefitted
themselves from the said violations. However, the quantification of the
unlawful gains made by the promoter group entities cannot be made on
account of non – submission of information sought from the Company
including date of purported pledge, copies of loans and pledge agreements
and DIS slips in respect of the shares offloaded by them.
175. It is also apparent from the facts of the case that the Company concealed the
correct shareholding pattern during the investigation period, when the
promoters were off-loading shares, thereby keeping public shareholders in
the dark about reduction in their shareholding. Thus, the picture that emerges
is that of a corporate entity that does not hesitate to bend rules and give a
rosy and distorted picture of its true self to investors to benefit its promoters.
The fact that the promoters gave themselves preferential allotment of shares
which led to them increasing their shareholding from 3.51 % to over 18.47 %
after start of the SEBI investigation speaks volumes of their intent to mislead
and their brazen approach towards self-enrichment. This acted as a scheme
against ordinary investors who were induced/ influenced into making their
investment decisions based on inflated profits reported by the Company and
the incorrect shareholding pattern of promoters filed by the Company with the
stock exchanges. On top of that, the Company, from the very start, resorted
to delaying tactics, so that the investigation process got stalled.
176. In view of the abovementioned observations and findings, I find that it is a fit
case for issuing appropriate directions in the form of a Show Cause Notice
cum Interim Order. Further, considering that the scrip of BGL is currently
trading at around Rs.16.23 (closing price at BSE on April 12, 2023), there is
a real risk that the Promoters may off-load their shares and exit the Company.
It is thus imperative that the Promoters be restrained/ prohibited from off–
loading/ disposing their shareholding in the Company having regard to their
conduct in these proceedings as detailed in the preceding paragraphs.
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Directions:
(a) Noticees 2 to 5 are hereby directed not to sell/ dispose of/ dilute their
shareholding in the Company, held directly or indirectly through their
family members or through companies/ LLP in which they or their family
members are Directors/ Partners until further orders.
(b) Noticee 1 (i.e. BGL) shall place the copy of this order before its Audit
Committee and also undertake the examination of its consolidated
financial statements for the period 2014-15 to 2021-22 to ensure that
the same are in compliance with all the applicable accounting standards
and submit the statement of impact of all the non-compliances noted
including those observed in the order for each of the financial years
within three months from the date of the order. The accounting impact
of rectification of above-noted non-compliances shall be carried out as
per the applicable accounting standards in the consolidated financial
statements of the financial year 2022-23. BGL shall ensure that the said
statement of impact of non-compliances is in the format specified in
SEBI Circular no. CIR/CFD/CMD/56/2016 dated May 27, 2016 (BGL
may use the term “non-compliances” instead the term “audit
qualification” for this purpose). BGL shall further ensure that the said
statement of impact of non-compliances is certified by a peer-reviewed
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Chartered Accountant, other than the Statutory Auditor, who had
audited at least one company forming part of NIFTY 100 or S&P BSE
100 indices during the past three years.
(c) Noticee 1 (i.e. BGL) shall publish on the stock exchanges platform,
within seven days from the date of this order, the statement showing
correct shareholding pattern, as required under regulation 31 of SEBI
(LODR) Regulations 2015 for all the quarters in which incorrect
shareholding pattern has been observed above.
(d) Noticee 1 (i.e. BGL) shall appoint at least one independent director on
its board of directors as a director on the board of directors of each of
its material subsidiaries, as required under Regulation 24(1) of SEBI
(LODR) Regulations, 2015, within fifteen days of the date of this order.
(f) Noticee 1 (i.e. BGL) shall ensure that, for the purposes of quarterly
consolidated financial results, at least eighty percent of each of the
consolidated revenue, assets and profits, respectively, is subjected to
audit or in case of unaudited results, subjected to limited review starting
from Quarter ending March 31, 2023, in accordance with the
requirements specified in Regulation 33(1)(h) of SEBI (LODR)
Regulations, 2015.
(g) The Audit Committee of BGL shall comply with the following directions,
within three months from the date of this order, and file its report on the
same with stock exchanges where the shares of BGL are listed:
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prescribed under the Companies Act, 2013, in view of the adverse
observations on statutory auditors.
ii. Review the adequacy of internal audit function of BGL and take
suitable corrective action.
iii. Enhance the oversight of the BGL’s financial reporting process and
the disclosure of its financial information to ensure that the financial
statement is correct, sufficient, and credible.
(h) NSE shall monitor the compliances with the above directions and file a
detailed report to SEBI periodically.
178. The foregoing prima facie observations, contained in this Order, are made on
the basis of the material available on record. The said prima facie findings
shall also be considered as a show cause notice and the afore-said Noticees
are directed to show cause as to why suitable directions / prohibitions under
Section 11(4) and 11B of the SEBI Act, 1992, including the directions
restraining them from accessing the securities market; prohibiting them from
buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities in any manner whatsoever,
directly or indirectly, for a specified period and further restraining them from
being associating with any listed company and any registered
intermediary, should not be issued against them, for the abovementioned
violations allegedly committed by them.
179. Further, the Noticees 1 to 5 are also called upon to show cause as to why
inquiry should not be held against them in terms of Rule 4(1) of Securities
and Exchange Board of India (Procedure for Holding Inquiry and Imposing
Penalties) Rules, 1995 and Rule 4(1) of Securities Contracts (Regulation)
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(Procedure for Holding Inquiry and Imposing Penalties) Rules, 2005 and
penalty be not imposed on them under Section 11(4A), 11B(2) read with
Section 15A(b), 15A(c), 15HA and 15HB of the SEBI Act, 1992 and Section
12A(2) read with Section 23H of Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956
for the above alleged violations of provisions of SEBI Act, 1992, SEBI (LODR)
Regulations, 2015, SEBI (PFUTP) Regulations, 2003, SEBI (PIT)
Regulations, 2015, Listing Agreement read with provisions of SCRA, 1956.
180. In this context, the concerned Noticees may, within 21 days from the date of
receipt of this Order, file their reply/objections, if any, to this Order and may
also indicate whether they desire to avail an opportunity of personal hearing
on a date and time to be fixed in that regard.
181. The above directions shall take effect immediately and shall be in force until
further orders.
182. A copy of this order shall be served upon Noticees, Stock Exchanges,
Registrar and Transfer Agents and Depositories for necessary action and
compliance with the above directions.
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