SEBI issued its final order, in the matter of Ricoh India Limited, against M/s Fourth Dimension Solutions Limited on 8th November, 2021. The order clears FDSL from all allegations filed against it by Ricoh India and the case is now closed by SEBI.
This relates to the complaint filed by Ricoh India Limited against FDSL and other people, including its MD, Amalendu Mukherjee with SEBI accusing them of fraudulently dealing in its shares. As the complaint was based on mere suspicion and with no hard facts available in the mentioned case the statutory governing authority, SEBI, had to clear FDSL of all its charges filed against it by Ricoh, bringing to a close the unethical practices followed by Ricoh, through its Indian subsidiary.
The story goes back to April, 2016, when Ricoh, stating itself to be an ethical company, had filed a complaint with SEBI on its own self, purposely through its independent directors, stating falsification of its financial statements and accusing FDSL and suggesting involvement of its MD, Amalendu Mukherjee being the chief beneficiaries. The claims made in the story were based merely on suspicions, with no hard facts available on records. However, under the pressure of its statutory auditors, who were also the statutory auditors of its HQ in Japan, they hurriedly filed a confusing and false complaint against FDSL and its directors. Ricoh not only mis-used their statutory auditors, one of top 4 audit firm, their law firm and the forensic auditors, for preparing false reports, based on false, biased and selected information provided to them by the company.
The good part is that after filing the complaint, Ricoh India, still continued doing business with FDSL and its directors and issued PO’s to FDSL for its very prestigious and high value, Department of Posts project worth Rs. 1000 crores. Further, even after accusing FDSL of de-frauding Ricoh India, they still went on making advance payments to FDSL worth more than Rs. 250 crores. However, the conspiracy of Ricoh came into the fore-front when it refused to settle a claim of Rs. 500 crores of FDSL as per the terms of the agreement for the projects under execution, signed by it with FDSL.
The main question simply arises, how come a company which files a complaint with SEBI against its main vendor partner company during the start of a new financial year, stating themselves to be an ethical company, thereupon issues a 3 PO’s worth Rs. 1000 crores to the same company, within a span of 3 months from filing of the complaint and thereafter keep carrying out the normal business transactions of sale and purchase with the same company till the end of that financial year.
Thereafter once the project is executed mid-way they purposely, for no valid reasons whatsoever, cancel all the project contacts with FDSL. Thereupon when FDSL claimed its portion of dues from Ricoh, worth Rs 500+ crores, against these contracts, the ethical company named Ricoh, files for self-insolvency and shows it to be bankrupt. Thereupon, as per the conspiracy they keep providing wrong and biased information to SEBI, so as to keep FDSL out of their insolvency process. This way they unethically not only de-frauded FDSL out of its due share of Rs. 500+ crores, but also its shareholders, other creditors and employees.
There is no answer to the question that which, self-proclaimed ethical company, will work with the same vendor company against whom they have filed a complaint of fraud and mis-management, issue PO’s and advance payments to them during the full financial year and thereafter purposely under a deep rooted conspiracy rescind all its contracts within one go so as to de-fraud the same vendor company of its legitimate dues worth more than Rs 500+ crores.
However ,looking into this deep rooted conspiracy, SEBI cleared FDSL, after a long drawn battle and now the matter rests forever. VARINDIA has extracted content from the SEBI order copy.
But the question remains the same, was ‘Ricoh’ an ethical company using unethical means and ways to operate in India and once the auditors stumble upon some mis-fed information, they simply shifts its responsibility and blame on some of its senior employees and its main vendor partner company and its directors. In this whole circle of events, no director of Ricoh India or its HQ, was held responsible for any such operational issues. It seems it was a well-hatched conspiracy by Ricoh to make its employees and vendor partner a scape goat to carry out it unethical practices and when the fear of such unethical practices having been observed by statutory authorities, Ricoh Japan exited from Indian operations at the stroke of midnight of a day in November, 2018. Thereupon all its expat employees were immediately called back to HQ and all relations with India were severed, for they knew that now it’s their turn to face the heat and their conspiracy and unethical ways had been exposed.
