Kolkata|
Malvinder and Shivinder Mohan Singh sold their family business to Japanese Daiichi Sankyo in 2008 for $2.4 billion and must have felt smug in ‘concealing’ facts. Now that the jig is up they have to shell out 2,600 Crore INR as a fine.
Ordered by Singapore court on the basis of an arbitration case filed by Daiichi Sankyo in 2013, they now will be richer by that sum having led astray due to “suppressing and misrepresenting” information that the cheating Indians presented about their controlling stakes in Ranbaxy.
The malpractice came to light when Daiichi Sankyo later resold Ranbaxy to Mumbai-based Sun Pharma and discrepancies surfaced against the slew of sanctions imposed by the US drug regulator on Ranbaxy over concerns about manufacturing processes at its plants.
Singh brothers subsequently invested their ill-gotten gains to form Fortis hospitals and later also floated Religare Enterprises.
Of course the penalty will be challenged, but will it save the Indian’s reputation for dubious dealings and will one seek cure from dishonest enterprise?