Reliance issue dominates Sebi board meeting

RCL transferred 23 per cent stake it held in IPCL to two Reliance Industries companies. Amitabh Jhunjhunwala, Anil’s confidante and a director on the Reliance Capital board, had dissented against the move at the recent board meet. The board also discussed whether the IPCL stake sale violated the takeover code. No decision was taken by the Sebi board on these issues. Sebi is already investigating complaints on securities translations against Reliance Industries.

Emerging from the board meeting which lasted for over two hours, M Damodaran, Chairman, Sebi refused to speak to the waiting media: ‘‘There is nothing to brief you about today’s meeting,’’ said he. Sebi said it is keeping a close watch on Reliance scrips in the light of allegations made by RIL vice chairman and managing director Anil Ambani about breach of corporate governance norms in RIL.

‘‘Sebi keeps everything under surveillance,’’ Chief Economic Advisor and the government representative on Sebi board, Ashok Lahiri told reporters.

“If anything comes up in surveillance, Sebi will look into the matter,” Lahiri said when asked what steps Sebi is taking on the alleged breach of governance norms in RIL. Anil Ambani has said shares of all Reliance group companies were “usually under-valued” because of absence of corporate governance and lack of transparency.

RIL feud: MP alleges letter forgery

: In a new twist to the Ambani versus Ambani fight over the Reliance ownership issues, a Lok Sabha MP on Friday sought an ‘‘official inquiry’’ from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh into use of his forged letter to make serious charges against officials in Anil’s camp. ‘‘I wish to put it on record that this letter is a case of blatant criminal forgery. The letter even misspells my name. The forged letterhead spells my name as Sugriv Singh,’’ Orissa MP Sugrib Singh said in a letter to the PM. —Agencies

RIL issue solved: The issue of the subission of the REL audited accounts to its parent company RIL stands resolved. RIL officials confirmed to IE that they have been received from REL. The issue had gained controversy when RIL sent out a notice to REL, since there was a delay in the submission of the accounts.