ICRA dips by 5 per cent as CEO is placed on force leave

The rating company's board has placed ICRA's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Naresh Takkar under forced leave with immediate effect. The stock reacted strongly to the development and slipped by more than 5 per cent in the morning session on Tuesday.

On Monday, the ICRA communicated to the exchanges that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has brought to the company's notice an anonymous representation made to SEBI regarding certain issues. The company is looking into the concerns raised and pending the examination, the company's board has placed the CEO, Naresh Takkar on leave, until further notice.

Meanwhile, the company's Chief Financial Officer Vipul Agarwal will be the interim Chief Operating Officer (COO), apart from his role as CFO. Agarwal has been ICRA's Group CFO since May 2015. Agarwal will report to the company's Board of Directors, in Takkar's absence.

In July 2015, ICRA had reappointed Naresh Takkar as the company's MD and CEO for a period of five years. The anonymous compliant is said to be with regards to the ratings given to Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS), which defaulted repayments despite investment grade ratings. The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) and IL&FS's new board are investigating four credit rating agencies ICRA, CARE Ratings, India Ratings and Brickwork Ratings for discrepancies in the ratings action for IL&FS Group companies.

Reacting to the development, the stock of ICRA Limited was quoting Rs. 3,046.00 per share, down by Rs. 172.35 or 5.36 per cent at 10:20 hours on Tuesday.