Ask God about Nilekani's comment, but probe still on: Ajay Tyagi

Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani defending the company against alleged whistleblower charges by proclaiming that even God can not change the company's financial numbers seems to have cut no ice with Sebi, as the market regulator continues with its probe into the complaint.

When asked about his views on Infosys Chairman's comments, Sebi Chairman Ajay Tyagi replied that this should be sought from Nilekani or one can "ask God".

Speaking on the sidelines of an event here, the Sebi chief said that probe into the complaint is still going on.

Tyagi's comments came after Nilekani reportedly said at an analysts' meet that Infosys maintained strong processes and that even God can't change the numbers of the company.

Few Infosys employees wrote to the company board accusing its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Salil Parekh and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nilanjan Roy of being involved in unethical practices for several quarters.

The revelation of the letter on October 22 spooked investors, who massively sold their holdings in Infosys stocks over the corporate governance issues. The impact of the sharp sell-off was seen far and wide, which eroded over Rs 50,000 crore worth of wealth in a single day.

At present, Sebi is probing the allegations and investigating the build-up of derivatives positions in the company's stock before the whistleblower complaint was revealed.

In the two-page letter sent to the IT behemoth's board of directors on September 20, the complainant said that in a quarter under review of 2019-20 fiscal, Infosys management put immense pressure on them to not recognise reversals of $50 million (Rs 353 crore) of upfront payment in FDR contract, as it will slash the company's profits for the quarter and negatively affect its stock price.

The complainants, who called themselves 'ethical employees', said that they were instructed not to share large deal information with the auditors.

( With inputs from IANS )