Infosys independent director Bobby Parikh fined for trading in company shares

Bobby Parikh, an independent director at Infosys, has been fined Rs 2,00,000 for trading in company shares, the information technology (IT) services firm said in a disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

His spouse Bela Parikh bought 2,754 shares during the open trading window period without his knowledge and trade pre-clearance, the Bengaluru based company said. The firm said it notified the stock exchanges of the occurrence of an inadvertent trade by her portfolio management services -- a joint account held by the couple.

“Parikh has confirmed that he was not in possession of any Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI). The audit committee of the company was notified of this matter. Based on Parikh’s submission, the committee has concluded that this was an inadvertent trade made without intent to violate the company’s insider trading policy or the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)," the company said in a statement.

According to the Infosys audit committee, this was still a violation of the company’s policy as well as SEBI regulations, and has therefore imposed the penalty, the company said. The amount will be remitted to the Investor Protection Education Fund (IPEF) in line with the regulator's stipulations, it added.

Parikh was appointed as an additional and independent director of the company from July 15, 2020, for a period of three years. 

He is also the managing partner of Bobby Parikh Associates, a boutique firm focused on providing strategic tax and regulatory advisory services. He focuses on providing tax and regulatory advice in relation to transactions and other forms of business reorganisations, whether inbound, outbound or wholly domestic, Infosys said in a statement at the time of his appointment.

Parikh also served as the CEO of audit at consultancy firm Ernst & Young in India till December 2003. He is a graduate in commerce from the University of Mumbai and a chartered accountant from the Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

Earlier this year, Infosys paid Rs 6 lakh in compounding fines to the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Karnataka, to settle the case pertaining to former chief financial officer Rajiv Bansal's severance pay. 

Early last year, the firm paid a fine of Rs 39 lakh to the market regulator to close the case after SEBI found that the payment was not in accordance with Infosys’ remuneration policy.

Late last year,  Infosys paid $800,000 to the state of California to settle a 13-year-old case on alleged visa and tax fraud. 

During the first quarter, the company reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit -- an 11% rise -- helped by deal wins despite Covid-19 related disruptions while forecasting revenue growth for the full financial year 2021 between 0% and 2%.