Jignesh Shah petitions court against CBI move

Jignesh Shah, chairman emeritus , 63 Moons Technologies (formerly Financial Technologies India) has in his personal capacity petitioned the high court here against the First Information Report (FIR) registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against him for getting a licence for the Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) without allegedly having followed the procedures.

The petition also contests the CBI claim of a “windfall gain” made by 63 Moons between the in-principle and final approval for the initial public offering (IPO) of equity by MCX.

“I have challenged the FIR on two major grounds. We had obtained all necessary compliances required to launch an exchange i.e MCX — technology, registered office, warehouses, etc. And, not a penny was received by 63 Moons which can be claimed as windfall gain. In fact, the ministry of corporate affairs had termed 63 Moons a loss making entity. Hence, there are contrasting views by two government agencies on one issue,”  Shah told journalists on Thursday.

CBI had begun a preliminary enquiry in 2015 on the licence obtained by 63 Moons for launch of futures trading on the MCX. This was converted last month into an FIR. 63 Moons is facing suits, raids and investigation from other government agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate and the economic offences wing of the Mumbai Police, in connection with the massive payment default in 2013 at its subsidiary, the National Spot Exchange (NSEL).

Last month, the government of Maharashtra had frozen the current accounts of 63 Moons. The company appealed to the high court, which granted some relief, allowing withdrawal of amounts required to meet day-to-day expenses and staffers' pay.

“The committee appointed by the court has already crystallised liability for Rs 14 billion and obtained decrees for another Rs 12 billion. Arbitration has been obtained for Rs 1 billion and another Rs 2.5 billion of receivables is expected by June,” said Shah of developments in the NSEL case.