Aztec Group Inc Florida Singapore Tokyo Japan Investments Scam-Wary private-equity firms
Aztec Group Inc Florida Singapore Tokyo Japan
Investments Scam-Wary private-equity firms
MUMBAI: When a Mumbai-based executive at a US private-equity firm got a phone call about how the senior management of an Indian company majority held by it was siphoning off money, he didn't believe it. Still, the PE firm hired one of the big four auditors to investigate, and what came out of the probe was shocking.
"The management team was dishing out contracts, including purchasing of machines, materials and services through one company without going through a tendering process.
The evidence collected revealed that the management team owned this company though which purchasing was done," said a person directly involved in the investigations.
The PE firm, which owned about 90% stake in the Indian company, sacked the senior management and brought in a new one. Before this could be done, the investigations found, around Rs 80 crore had already been siphoned off.
This US investor is among an increasing number of PE firms rushing to corporate investigators, suspecting governance issues including fraud and corruption at companies where they hold stakes. "PE funds are increasingly carrying out post-investment investigations to monitor their investments, particularly when there is an allegation or suspicion of fraud," said Nikhil Bedi, senior director at Deloitte Forensic in India. "Given that
PE funds generally invest in minority positions with limited operational control, the course of action to salvage the investment when such an issue is discovered tends to therefore be is limited." But PEs have full control of such situations when they acquire a majority stake. And, according to industry trackers, the trend of post-investment investigations has been growing as more PE funds are buying controlling stakes in Indian companies. "PEs in India are taking a number of steps to avoid risk of fraud post acquisition," said Dhruv Phophalia, managing director, India leader, for global
Investments Scam-Wary private-equity firms
MUMBAI: When a Mumbai-based executive at a US private-equity firm got a phone call about how the senior management of an Indian company majority held by it was siphoning off money, he didn't believe it. Still, the PE firm hired one of the big four auditors to investigate, and what came out of the probe was shocking.
"The management team was dishing out contracts, including purchasing of machines, materials and services through one company without going through a tendering process.
The evidence collected revealed that the management team owned this company though which purchasing was done," said a person directly involved in the investigations.
The PE firm, which owned about 90% stake in the Indian company, sacked the senior management and brought in a new one. Before this could be done, the investigations found, around Rs 80 crore had already been siphoned off.
This US investor is among an increasing number of PE firms rushing to corporate investigators, suspecting governance issues including fraud and corruption at companies where they hold stakes. "PE funds are increasingly carrying out post-investment investigations to monitor their investments, particularly when there is an allegation or suspicion of fraud," said Nikhil Bedi, senior director at Deloitte Forensic in India. "Given that
PE funds generally invest in minority positions with limited operational control, the course of action to salvage the investment when such an issue is discovered tends to therefore be is limited." But PEs have full control of such situations when they acquire a majority stake. And, according to industry trackers, the trend of post-investment investigations has been growing as more PE funds are buying controlling stakes in Indian companies. "PEs in India are taking a number of steps to avoid risk of fraud post acquisition," said Dhruv Phophalia, managing director, India leader, for global