MCX to take ‘appropriate action’ after PwC permission
Potential bidders want to see the contents of the PwC report on the forensic audit of MCX
Mumbai: Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) said late on Monday that it will initiate “appropriate actions" after obtaining an approval from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)—the audit firm which conducted a special audit and submitted the final report.
The commodity exchange did not divulge any further information.
“The board considered the PwC’s special audit report. We have decided to take all necessary actions required. The actions will depend on the adverse findings of the report," a PTI report had quoted MCX chairman Satyananda Mishra as saying on Saturday after the company’s board meeting.
In the wake of ₹ 5,600-crore payment crisis at NSEL, commodity markets regulator FMC in December, 2013 had appointed PwC to audit books of MCX to examine if NSEL arm Indian Bullion Markets Association and FTIL’s subsidiary National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC) traded on MCX.
On Friday, Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) said it would reconvene its board meeting on 2 May to review the divestment of a 24% stake in MCX, suggesting that the planned sale may have hit a temporary roadblock.
The board had said a decision on the stake sale was being deferred in the light of bidders seeking an extension to make binding bids until after the MCX board meeting on Saturday.
FTIL has a 26% stake in MCX, but needs to reduce it to 2% in order to comply with a 17 December order by FMC that declared FTIL unfit to run an exchange.
FTIL, promoted by entrepreneur Jignesh Shah, has been under regulatory pressure to act on its order and divest the stake in MCX. FMC has warned that if there’s no indication of a sale by 30 April, it would have to take action such as not allowing the exchange to offer fresh contracts for trading.
Potential bidders, meanwhile, want to see the contents of the PwC report on the forensic audit of MCX. In a letter to FMC, dated 22 April, Reliance Capital Ltd, which has evinced interest in buying the stake, complained that MCX wasn’t sharing the findings of the PwC audit.
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