IndusInd Bank Share Price Declines Over 2% Following Report of Fresh Whistleblower Complaint to PMO and RBI

IndusInd Bank Shares Decline on Whistleblower Complaint

Shares of IndusInd Bank, a private lender, declined in early trade on Wednesday following a report that a fresh whistleblower complaint had been sent to the Prime Minister's Office and multiple regulators seeking an investigation into alleged insider trading and governance lapses.

At 09:22 IST, IndusInd Bank was trading at Rs 888.45 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), down Rs 24.05 or 2.64 per cent.

The decline comes after a whistleblower complaint was submitted to the Prime Minister's Office, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA), and other agencies. The complaint seeks an investigation into alleged insider trading, governance failures, and shortcomings in forensic and audit reviews at the bank following the discovery of a Rs 2,000-crore derivatives accounting discrepancy.

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According to the complaint, Samir Agarwal, former zonal head of eastern India at IndusInd Bank, allegedly engaged in insider trading, manipulation of financial records, evergreening of microfinance loans, suppression of audit findings, and attempts by senior management and board members to conceal irregularities. The complaint further alleges that Agarwal used confidential information obtained through his corporate banking responsibilities to facilitate trades by family members and related entities, generating gains of around Rs 46 crore through share transactions worth nearly Rs 815 crore before key developments became public.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the allegations contained in the whistleblower complaint. IndusInd Bank responded to queries from The Economic Times, stating that it "rejects the assertions" made by the whistleblower and added that all concerns had been "duly examined" and that "appropriate actions" had been taken in line with internal policies and regulatory requirements. The lender also told The Economic Times that it had proactively reported certain matters to authorities and would not comment further while the matter remains under review.

The whistleblower complaint was sent to the bank at the end of May, according to The Economic Times.