The Securities Appellate Tribunal has overturned the decision made by SEBI, which had imposed a one-year ban on Zee Entertainment s CEO, Punit Goenka, preventing him from serving on the boards of listed companies. This likely paves the way for the completion of the merger between Zee-Sony, creating a $10 billion media entity in the country.
In an interim order, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in June restrained Essel Group Chairman Subhash Chandra Goenka and Goenka from board seats in any entity formed through the merger or amalgamation of the four Zee group companies. SEBIs investigations showed that Chandra and Goenka abused their position as directors of Zee Entertainment in 2019 by siphoning off funds for their own benefit.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has reserved order in ZEEL MD and CEO Punit Goenka s appeal against Sebi s order. Sebi banned him and his father Subhash Chandra Goenka from directorial roles due to alleged unauthorized money transfers within Essel Group companies. The order also prevents Punit from leading the Sony-Zee merger, despite regulatory approvals.