Govt names the directors of shell companies
- In a first-of-a-kind ‘name and shame’ exercise, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MoCA) has begun making public the lists of disqualified directors across the nation as well as those associated with struck-off companies.
- Former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, jailed politician V.K. Sasikala, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala and Gulf-based business tycoon M.A. Yusufali are some of the prominent names figuring in these lists.
- Four ‘shell companies’ linked to Sasikala, the jailed aide of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, are among the companies struck off by the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in Chennai.
- This follows a MoCA statement on September 12 that as on that day, it had identified 1.06 lakh directors of ‘shell companies’ for disqualification under the relevant provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.
- The move is part of actions to break the network of ‘shell companies’ and further the fight against black money/money laundering, it had said. Several Keralite businessmen, leading politicians, top civil servants, and police officers figured in the lists.
- The four shell companies with links to Sasikala which have been dissolved include Fancy Steels Private Limited, Rainbow Air Private Limited, Sukraa Club Private Limited and Indo Doha Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited.
