TV9 former CEO Ravi Prakash arrested

By Newsmeter Network  Published on  5 Oct 2019 1:47 PM GMT
TV9 former CEO Ravi Prakash arrested

Hyderabad: City police arrested TV9 former CEO V Ravi Prakash on Saturday in connection with a cheating case. Associated Broadcasting Company Private Limited (ABPCL), has lodged a fresh complaint against TV9 former CEO V. Ravi Prakash and his associate M.K.V.N. Murthy at Banjara Hills police station, alleging cheating, gross misappropriation of funds and causing wrongful loss to ABCPL and its shareholders.

Alanda group which has taken over the TV9 has accused the duo of drawing huge sums of money from the bank accounts of the company without substantiating any entitlement under law. Besides, the group also accused them of not following proper procedures or providing any calculations thereof and not getting the approval of directors/shareholders. The group said that all this amounts to cheating, gross misappropriation of funds, causing wrongful loss to the company and getting personal benefits at the cost of the company. They thus requested an investigation and for necessary action to be taken.

Meanwhile, a team of policemen from the Banjara Hills police station arrested TV9 CEO Mr Ravi Prakash and questioned him in connection with the fresh complaint. Alanda Media also stated that they have acquired a majority of shareholding (ownership) constituting 90.54 per cent of the total equity share capital of the company on August 27, 2018, and are the major shareholders of the company.

During verification of records and account statements since June 2019 by the new Board of Directors, it has come to light that V. Ravi Prakash and M.K.V.N. Murthy fraudulently drawn huge sums and also paid one Clifford Pereira by abusing the authority and signing the instruments.

Details of the withdrawals:

The above said that the cheques for remittance were issued by Ravi Prakash and M.K.V.N. Murthy. This was despite them not being entitled to issue such huge amounts, knowing that they had no authority to pay for themselves without obtaining the approval of the shareholders and directors.

Further, they were the directors and authorised signatories to the bank accounts as on the date of drawl of the sums and misused their cheque power, which is to be used for the interest of the company.

They were the whole-time directors of ABCPL and were entrusted with the funds of the company and were the authorised signatories to operate the bank accounts of the company in their capacity. Being the agents and trustees of the company, they were expected to discharge their duties in the interest of the company, its shareholders and other stakeholders in regards to the company’s funds.

They disregard the trust reposed in them by the shareholders and utilised the issued cheques from the company’s account in their favour.

The transfer amounts were done dishonestly and fraudulently to cause wrongful loss to the company and consequent wrongful gain to themselves by deceiving the company. The duo later on, as an afterthought coloured it as bonus/ exgratia with antedated documents without passing a proper Board resolution to pay such amounts which anyway cannot be passed the accused were interested parties to the Board resolution.

The amount misused by them is almost equivalent to the profits of the two financial years i.e., FY 17-18 & 18-19 of the company.

Also read: https://newsmeter.in/zee-medias-barun-das-is-the-new-ceo-of-tv9/

Alanda media in their complaint to the police said, “We have also come to know that they advised the accounts team to record these amounts on account of bonus / exgratia to them without conducting a proper Board Meeting or taking the approval in the general meeting of shareholders of the company. These amounts are treated as an illegal and wrongful withdrawal from the company. The Board of directors in their meeting on September 24, 2019, had detailed deliberations about the fraudulent withdrawal of the said amounts and decided to file the complaints and initiate legal proceedings to recover the above-said amounts.”

Next Story