Centre probing 207 cases of violation of corp norms

The government on Friday said its agencies were probing 207 instances of violation of corporate governance norms under the Companies Law on the basis of complaints it had received.

Corporate Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal told the Lok Sabha that of the 207 cases under investigation, 83 were ordered in the first three months of this fiscal.

Goyal also said that the government had taken strongest action against Kingfisher and Nirav Modi's companies, which were given loans much before the BJP came to power.

"The strongest action has been taken against all these frauds, all these defaulters, which, in earlier years, never used to happen," Goyal said in response to supplementary questions from BJD member Bhartruhari Mahtab.

He said that there was an elaborate framework under the Companies Act, 2013, to deal with minor and major violations.

In 2018-19, the ministry has ordered 83 investigations till the end of June into violations of corporate governance norms, Goyal said.

According to the minister, during the period from 2015-16 to June 30, 2018, the total number of investigations ordered stood at 207.

Besides, the minister said Registrar of Companies (RoCs) have filed 399 prosecutions against entities for various violations of the Companies Act in the current fiscal till June 30.

Meanwhile, 13 cases have been assigned to the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) till June 30 this fiscal, Goyal said.

The government had taken several steps to improve corporate governance, including a nationwide drive to strike off inactive companies, disqualification of defaulting directors and electronic KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements for directors, he added.

Goyal said the government had identified 2.97 lakh shell companies out of which 2.26 lakh companies were struck off from the Register of Companies.

The minister said the government had launched a second drive under which 2.35 lakh companies were under the scanner.