CARE Ratings sends MD Rajesh Mokashi on leave

After ICRA, CARE Ratings has sent its MD and CEO Rajesh Mokashi on leave, pending completion of the examination of an anonymous complaint received by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

The company has decided to appoint T N Arun Kumar, currently executive director (ratings), as interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO), CARE Ratings said in a late evening regulatory filing on Wednesday.

"The board of directors of CARE Ratings has at its meeting decided, pending the completion of the examination of anonymous complaint received by Sebi and forwarded to CARE Ratings, to place Rajesh Mokashi, Managing Director and CEO of CARE, on leave with immediate effect, until further notice," it said.

Earlier this week, ICRA decided to send its managing director and chief executive Naresh Takkar on forced leave, pending an enquiry into the "concerns" raised by the capital markets watchdog Sebi.

A May 9 media report had said the Icra top brass was being probed for influencing the 'AAA' rating on IL&FS.

The IL&FS debacle spooked the credit markets, triggering a liquidity crisis for the non-banking lenders in general; and the system is yet to come out of the stress despite investors losing thousands of crores.

Takkar has been at the helm of Icra for long and was also recently appointed by the Reserve Bank as a member of its committee on the development of housing finance securitisation market, which is chaired by Bain & Co's Harsh Vardhan.