CARE Ratings sends CEO Mokashi on leave after anonymous complaint

CARE Ratings has sent its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Rajesh Mokashi on leave till further notice after an anonymous complaint was filed against him at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

The decision is pending completion of an examination of an anonymous complaint received by the market regulator and forwarded to CARE Ratings, the agency said.

"The board of directors of CARE has decided to appoint TN Arun Kumar, currently Executive Director (Ratings), as interim CEO of the company. He will not be part of rating operations to ensure independence of ratings," CARE said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Moody's Investors Services' India unit ICRA Ltd sent its CEO and Managing Director Naresh Takkar on leave over a similar anonymous complaint. The complaint said that ICRA's top management had interfered in assigning high ratings to IL & FS and its subsidiaries.

Rating agencies have come under severe criticism for missing warning signs like IL & FS rocketing debt load beyond normal levels. The default of infrastructure financier reverberated the country's credit markets and triggered a liquidity crisis which has crippled non-banking finance companies.