Relief for Gautam Thapar: NCLT terms Vaish report on CG Power as 'bogus', says it will rely on independent or govt agency report

Mumbai: In a relief to CG Power’s sacked chairman Gautam Thapar, the NCLT on Thursday termed an audit report by Vaish Associates on the firm as “bogus”, saying it will only rely on the report conducted independently or by a government agency in the matter. CG Power’s board sacked Thapar after Vaish Associates’ audit report, which itself is based on as many as 23 disclaimers, claimed that Thapar swindled Rs 3,000 crore from CG Power. The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) said it will not rely on this report, unless done independently or after being ordered by the corporate affairs ministry or government agencies like Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO). [caption id=“attachment_3931893” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] Only the government’s investigation will be taken on record, the bench comprising Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and Rajesh Sharma said. The tribunal kept the matter on alleged financial irregularities at CG Power for further hearing on 23 January. Based on the Vaish’s report, the corporate affairs ministry on 25 November sought to reopen the books of the company for the past five years ending March 2019. But, the NCLT had rejected this petition as well on 16 December. Markets regulator Sebi banned Thapar and entities associated with him for three years, following which he moved the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which has asked the company to provide relevant documents to him. In November, the SFIO began a probe against CG Power and 15 group entities.