Icra plunges 5% after MD Naresh Takkar sent on leave

Shares of Icra plunged over 5 per cent in trade on Tuesday as rating agency placed managing director Naresh Takkar on leave until further notice after the market regulator forwarded an anonymous complaint on the ratings of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS).

This marks the first such move by a credit rating agency over IL&FS, which unexpectedly defaulted on repayments in September last year, setting off a liquidity crisis for nonbanking financial companies (NBFCs) and throwing the country’s financial markets into turmoil.

“The board of directors of Icra decided, pending the completion of the examination of the concerns raised in the anonymous representation that was forwarded to the company by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), to place Naresh Takkar on leave, effective immediately, until further notice,” the rating company said in an exchange filing.


Chief financial officer Vipul Agarwal was named interim chief operating officer.

The company said in May that it had hired an independent investigative agency to inquire into accusations of meddling in the rating of IL&FS.

The shares of the company closed 5.23 per cent lower at Rs 3050.10 on BSE.