MCX calls board meeting on Dec 26 to discuss FTIL stake issue

FMC had ruled that Financial Technologie is not 'fit and proper person' to continue to be a shareholder of 2% or more in the bourse

A day after sector regulator severely indicted its promoter, Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) has called a meeting of its board on December 26 to decide on FMC's order to cut promoters stake from 26% to 2%.

Forward Markets Commission (FMC) had ruled that Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL), the promoter and the largest shareholder, is not 'fit and proper person' to continue to be a shareholder of 2% or more in the bourse.

According to sources, FMC had directed yesterday MCX to call a board meeting to decide on timeline for reducing FTIL's stake in the commodity exchange.

Accordingly, the MCX has scheduled its board meeting for December 26 to discuss this issue among other agenda.

Meanwhile, FTIL today informed stock exchanges that the company is examining the FMC order and would take "appropriate steps" in due course of time.

In its 80-page order, FMC said that Jignesh Shah and his firm FTIL are not 'fit and proper' to run any exchange and charged him of being the "highest beneficiary" in NSEL scam.

Shah is currently the chairman of FTIL which owns and runs National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) where a Rs 5,500 crore payment crisis is being probed by multiple agencies.

FMC, which went into the running of NSEL following payment defaults, held that FTIL is not a 'fit and proper person' to hold anything more than 2% shareholding in the MCX.

Shah on October 9 quit as Vice-Chairman and shareholder Director of MCX-SX, the third major stock exchange in India. Few weeks later, he also resigned as Vice Chairman of MCX.

Noting that Shah was "practically the highest beneficiary of the fraud perpetrated at the NSEL Exchange", the FMC ordered that "Shri Jignesh P. Shah is not a 'fit and proper' person to hold any position in the management and the Board of any Exchange recognised or registered by the Government of India/ Forward Markets Commission under FCRA, 1952".

FMC also ordered Joseph Massey and Shreekant Javalgekar, former directors of MCX, not a 'fit and proper' person to hold any position in the management and the Board of any Exchange.