Moody's India unit ICRA removes CEO

ICRA

29/08/2019 17:16

BENGALURU, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Rating agency ICRA Ltd
 ICRA.NS , the Indian unit of Moody's Investors Service  MCO.N ,
said on Thursday it had removed Chief Executive Officer Naresh
Takkar.
    ICRA had sent Takkar on leave last month citing an anonymous
complaint sent to the country's markets regulator, the
Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N242337
    Indian media reported that the complaint was about
interference by the ICRA's top executives in assigning
investment-grade ratings on debt-laden Infrastructure Leasing &
Financial Services (IL&FS). 
    On Thursday, ICRA said it removed Takkar after "due
consideration and taking into account the best interests of the
company and its various stakeholders," but gave no other
details.
    IL&FS, a major infrastructure financing and construction
company, collapsed late last year after a series of defaults
that triggered fear of contagion in the financial sector and
forced the government to take control and overhaul its board.
    Audit firm Grant Thornton, appointed by IL&FS' new board,
said in a report last month that credit rating agencies for
years assigned high ratings to IL&FS and its group companies
despite its deteriorating finances.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24L04T
    "I am shocked and highly disappointed at this decision,"
Takkar told Reuters, declining to comment on the allegations. 
"I feel aggrieved that natural justice has been denied by the
company where I have worked with utmost sincerity for the last
27 years."
    Vipul Agarwal, who was named ICRA's interim chief operating
officer in July, would continue to run the agency's day-to-day
operations while it searches for a new CEO, the company said.
    CARE Ratings Ltd  CREI.NS  also placed its Chief Executive
Officer Rajesh Mokashi on leave last month until further notice
as it examined an anonymous complaint to SEBI.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N24J12J

 (Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Abhirup Roy and
Alexandra Hudson)
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