Nithin Kamath: Big action has been taken against the online stock trading platform Zerodha. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has taken action against many top officials, including the company’s founder, Nithin Kamath. The ministry has imposed a fine on all the directors of Zerodha Asset Management for failing to appoint a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) within the stipulated time.
Zerodha AMC Was Working Without A CFO
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has issued this order on July 31. According to this, Zerodha AMC has violated Section 203 of the Companies Act, 2013. Under this, companies with paid-up capital of more than Rs 10 crore must make permanent appointments to the post of CFO. But, the company was working without a CFO. The order states that the company regulator has imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Zerodha AMC. A fine of Rs 4.08 lakh has also been imposed on the company’s founder, Nithin Kamath.
Fine Imposed On All These Officials
Apart from this, a fine of Rs 5 lakh has been imposed on Rajanna Bhuvanesh, Rs 3.45 lakh on Zerodha AMC CEO Vishal Virendra Jain, Rs 3.45 lakh on company secretary Shikha Singh, Rs 1.5 lakh on Nithya Easwaran and Rs 1.5 lakh on Tushar Mahajan.
The CFO Post Of The Company Was Vacant For 459 Days
Zerodha AMC appointed Chintan Bhatt as the company’s CFO in March 2023. Till then, the company was not following the Companies Act. This action has been taken due to this delay. The ministry said in its order that the CFO post of the company was vacant from December 20, 2021, to March 23, 2023, i.e. 459 days. Zerodha and its officials have been given 90 days to pay the fine. The order states that the company directors will pay the fine from their own money.
