Ex-Infy BPO div head gets life ban

Allen Lam, a former Infosys BPO senior management member, who was asked to leave the company on “ethical grounds” following a six-month jail term this July in Hong Kong on charges of insider trading during his stint with CLSA in 2005, has now been banned from the industry for life by Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission.

Lam was with Infosys Technologies as head of its Asia-Pacific BPO business for around two years and reported to Amitabh Chaudhry, whose resignation as Infosys BPO’s CEO & MD was confirmed by the company yesterday.

He also was known to Chaudhry before joining Infosys. He was dismissed from Infosys after pleading guilty and being jailed this July.

Lam, according to a Bloomberg report pleaded guilty on insider trading and was jailed for six months and fined $8,900.

Insider trading carries a maximum prison sentence of 10 years and fines of up to HK$10 million in Hong Kong.

T V Mohandas Pai, Head of Human Resources and Administration, and member of the Board of Infosys, said the company took action against Lam when he had been indicted. To a question whether Lam was recommended by Chaudhry, he said, “He (Chaudhry) knew him, but we pick up people based on the merit”. Chaudhry is serving the notice period till January 15, his last working day in the company. Pai said efforts were on to find a successor to Chaudhry.