Journalism of Courage
The Bombay High Court on Monday refused to stay the December 17 order of the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) declaring Financial Technologies (India) Ltd, or FTIL, as not fit to run exchanges. The HC was hearing an appeal filed by FTIL seeking temporary relief.
The FMC had issued the order after the Rs 5,574.34 crore scam at the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL). FTIL holds 99.9 per cent stake in NSEL.
FTIL said that the order has become the foundation for subsequent regulatory orders and forced divestment by FTIL in its exchange ventures. FTIL has claimed that it lost Rs 1,000 crore due to “forced divestments” as a result of the order.
The court’s refusal to grant an interim stay also means the government can proceed with its proposal to merge NSEL with FTIL.
The High Court had on August 22 granted bail to Jignesh Shah, promoter of FTIL. Following the development, a letter from FTIL’s vice president and company secretary, Hariraj Chouhan said that its subsidiary Financial Group Investments Private Limited Monday approved the sale of 100 per cent of its stake in Bourse Africa Limited, Mauritius to Continental Africa Holdings Limited (CAHL) for $40.5 million.
The deal is subject to certain approvals in Mauritius and India, the letter said.
