Whistleblower Complaint Rocks Infosys, Shares Plunge 16 Percent

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An anonymous group calling itself ‘ethical employees’ alleged in a letter to the board of Infosys and the US Securities and Exchange Commission that company’s Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh and Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy took disturbing unethical measures to boost profits and short-term revenue.

In a apparent damage control , Software major Infosys, have reportedly  said it has engaged law firm Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Company to conduct an independent investigation on two complaints by some employees about unethical measures to boost profits.

The complainants said they have emails and voice recordings to substantiate the claims.

“These complaints are being dealt with in an objective manner,” said Chairman of Infosys Ltd Nandan Nilekani.

“The undated whistleblower complaint largely deals with allegations relating to the CEO’s international travel to the United States and Mumbai,” he said in a statement.

In 2017, Infosys had witnessed a protracted stand-off between its high profile founders and the previous management over allegations of governance lapses and issues relating to severance package doled out to former executives, including ex-CFO Rajiv Bansal.

Following the tussle, the then CEO Vishal Sikka quit followed by some board members. Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani was then brought in as Chairman to steer the company. Salil Parekh joined the company in January last year as the CEO.

Infosys has also settled with Sebi the case of alleged disclosure lapses regarding payment made to Bansal earlier this year. It paid Rs 34.34 lakh to the markets regulator to settle the case.