India\'s Infosys says no prima facie evidence on whistleblower complaints

Bengaluru: Indian IT services major Infosys Ltd said on Monday it received no evidence to support the allegations in a whistleblower letter from last month, sending shares up as much as 6.5 per cent in morning trade.

A letter, claimed to have been written by employees of the company in October, said Chief Executive Salil Parekh instigated them and others to bypass approvals for large deals, fearing a negative impact on shares from reduced profit.

“There is no supporting evidence that has been received by the company along with these anonymous complaints to substantiate the allegations,” Infosys said in a letter to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) dated November 2.

Infosys said last month that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had launched a probe into whistleblower claims that the Indian software services firm used ‘unethical practices’ to boost revenue and profit.

The complaints were still under investigation and the company was not in a position to determine “concreteness, credibility and materiality of complaints,” the Bengaluru-based company said in its letter to the NSE.

The letter was in reply to the NSE’s request to the company to explain why it had not disclosed the receipt of the letter.

Infosys said since the allegations were not deemed “material” under Indian regulation, the company was not obligated to disclose them.