The Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an FIR against the chairman of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) Rashmi Saluja and gave a clean chit to Dabur’s Burmans.
The investigation by the ED claims that business executives allegedly gave Rs 2 lakh to Vaibhav Gawali, a stakeholder in REL, in exchange for him filing a formal complaint against the Burman family.
Who is Dr. Rashmi Saluja?
The Enforcement Directorate has filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Rashmi Saluja, the chairman of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), charging her with a criminal conspiracy to thwart the Burman family’s acquisition of REL, which controls Dabur.
According to the ED, Dr. Rashmi Saluja and other high-ranking REL officials encouraged one of the company’s shareholders, Vaibhav Jalinder Gawali, to lodge a formal complaint at the Mumbai Matunga Police station.
The complaint claimed that former directors Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh had embezzled company funds with the Burman family’s help. With a 25% stake in REL, the Burman family can pursue an open offer to purchase an additional 26% of the company’s shares.
According to the ED FIR, senior REL officials provided the complainant with prepared information to file the FIR, claiming that he lacked a thorough awareness of the case’s facts. In its investigation, the ED claimed to have found that REL officials had bribed Gawali Rs 2 lakh in return for his filing an FIR against the Burman family.
What Does ED Said About Investigation?
According to the ED, its investigation showed that Rashmi Saluja and other current religare enterprises officials were responsible for filing the FIR to thwart the planned takeover of the business and its subsidiaries and hide the discovery of illicit gains made by them through the purchase of Care Health Insurance (CHIL) employee stock options (ESOPs).
CHIL is the insurance division of Religare Enterprises. The CHIL board had approved giving Dr. Rashmi Saluja 2.3 crore shares as ESOPs for Rs 45.32 each. However, the nation’s insurance regulator, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), rejected Saluja’s ESOPs.
In August 2022, the CHIL board once more gave its approval for Saluja to receive 2.7 crore shares as ESOPs at the same price of Rs 45.32. The board approved the issuance of rights shares at a rate of Rs 110 per share during the same meeting.
According to ED, REL funds were utilized to purchase shares at a higher price without considering pricing differences to meet the requirements for ESOP vesting.