New Delhi: In a major development the Enforcement Directorate is seeking details from the chairman of Fortis Healthcare Ltd, Malvinder Mohan Singh, about his purchase of investment-linked insurance policies abroad worth several crores of rupees.
The ED has initiated an inquiry into his alleged investment of $5 million in acquiring insurance policies outside India and has sought to know whether permission from the RBI, which is mandatory, was given.
The ED has also asked the Fortis chairman to submit a copy of his passport to the agency. On April 30 this year, the ED sent a directive asking him to furnish details pertaining to “share-holding pattern of M/s RCH Holding Private Limited from the date of its inception”. The ED has sought details of investment-linked insurance policies with a firm based abroad that was “acquired by Malvinder Singh and his two firms — M/s RCH and M/s Fortis Healthcare Ltd”.
Details of Mr Singh’s citizenship have also been sought by the ED. Two specific guidelines are required to hold an insurance policy outside India. As per regulation 4 (i) of Fema-RB dated June 5, 2003, an Indian resident may take or continue to hold life insurance policy issued by an insurer outside India under specific or general permission by the RBI.
Secondly, under Regulation 4 (II), a resident of India could continue to hold insurance policy outside India provided he also was a resident of that particular country. This is why the ED has sought details of Mr Malvinder Singh’s citizenship.
The directive sought details of the “Citizenship of Malvinder Mohan Singh on the date on which the insurance policy was acquired”. When contacted, the company spokesperson denied that ED had sent any directive under Fema to the Fortis chairman.
“We have not received any intimation of any such case. We are a legally compliant organisation and our management also strongly lives by this commitment as well,” the company said in a written reply.
Taking offence on such queries, Fortis said, “Your overall line of questioning through this email clearly seems to have been motivated by mischief and with deliberate intent to malign Mr Singh and also destabilise the group, which may have impact on the stock price.”
