The ongoing regulatory probe into the alleged siphoning off of funds by the promoters of Leel Electricals, formerly Lloyd Electric and Engineering Ltd., is getting delayed as the company officials are allegedly not cooperating in the forensic audit process, which has been mandated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
While Deloitte has been tasked with the forensic audit to find out if the promoters diverted funds after the company sold its consumer durables business to Havells India in 2017 for about ₹1,600 crore, SEBI officials recently visited the company’s premises in Noida in connection with the probe and have communicated the regulator’s concerns over non-cooperation with the inquiry process, said a person familiar with the development.
“The company has been told that the audit is a time-bound exercise with stringent deadlines but is still taking time to share the complete set of documents as required in the audit,” said the person.
“While the company has shared some documents such as the annual report and the balance sheet, the forensic audit team has sought more information and the company is sharing the documents only in parts, thereby slowing the audit process,” he added.
In the past too, the bourses had penalised the entity for non-compliance with the regulations in timely filing of the financial results and shareholding pattern reports.
