INFOSYS CEO SALIL PAREKH HIT BY MORE CHARGES IN SECOND LETTER
Infosys Ltd has received a second whistle-blower complaint accusing chief executive officer (CEO) Salil Parekh of misdemeanours, days after a similar letter prompted the company’s board to institute an independent probe.
The second whistle-blower urged the chairman and directors to act against Parekh.
“Though it is a year and eight months since Parekh joined the company, he operates from Mumbai in violation of the condition that the CEO has to be based in Bengaluru. What is stopping the board to insist on his movement to Bengaluru,” said the whistleblower in the unsigned letter to Infosys chairman and co-founder Nandan Nilekani and independent directors.
Claiming to be an employee in the $11-billion company’s finance department, the whistleblower said he was unable to disclose his identity fearing retaliation for the damning disclosures he was making against Parekh.
“I am an employee working in the finance department. I am submitting this whistle-blower complaint as the matter is so volatile that I fear retaliation if I disclose my identity. Please excuse me for the same, but the matter is of grave importance.”
As an employee and a shareholder, the whistle-blower said it was his duty to bring to the notice of the chairman and the board a few facts that were eroding the value systems of the company.
Accusing Parekh of visiting Bengaluru from Mumbai at least twice a month, the employee said: “As all our employees are paying for their transport from their homes to office and back, expecting the same from the CEO is not wrong. Please initiate actions to recover this money from Salil Parekh immediately.”
When the first letter became public on October 22, shares of Infosys tumbled about 16% to close at ₹643.55 on BSE.
Since then, the stock has recovered 9.5%, while the Sensex gained 3.54%.
The markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Guru Nanak Jayanti.
However, the second letter, a copy of which was reviewed by
Mint, may not be new.
It could be the one of the “undated letters” that Infosys had referred to earlier. In a statement on October 22, Nilekani had acknowledged that a board member had received two anonymous complaints on September 30— one dated September 20 titled “Disturbing unethical practices”, and the second undated “Whistleblower Complaint”.
When contacted, an Infosys spokesperson said the company has “nothing more to share at this point in time”.