Sebi accepts Infy plea on severance settlement

BENGALURU: Market regulator Sebi has accepted a settlement application filed by Infosys following the latter’s inquiry into alleged inadequate disclosures and procedural lapses in the severance agreement with former CFO Rajiv Bansal, sources told TOI.

The settlement application is now before Sebi’s Advisory Committee headed by Vijay C Daga, retired judge of the Bombay high court, for a decision on the quantum of monetary penalty, the sources said. An email sent to Sebi on the matter did not elicit a response, while Infosys said it has no update to share.

Late last year, Infosys said it wanted to resolve the allegations about not seeking prior approval of the nomination and remuneration committee

and the audit committee of the company in relation to the severance agreement, disclosures pertaining to the pact, cessation of severance payments and arbitration.

Infosys had agreed to pay Bansal Rs 17.4 crore as severance, the equivalent of 24 months’ pay. Subsequently, it disbursed only Rs 5 crore and halted the remaining payment on grounds that Bansal had not stood by some of the conditions he was obliged to.

The matter is under arbitration. A settlement application, if accepted, can include monetary or non-monetary penalties.

The former will be a minimum of Rs 2 lakh. The latter can include major actions such as voluntary suspension of certificate of registration, or closure of business for a specified period. It can also include actions like removal from management and debarment of certain individuals from acting as a partner or officer, or directions relating to internal audit and reporting requirements.

Infosys had said the settlement application is based on an undertaking that the company would “neither admit nor deny the finding of fact or conclusion of law”.

Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI )

Infosys Technologies Limited