IL&FS case: ICRA sacks its MD & CEO Naresh Takkar with immediate effect, was sent on forced leave in July

The board of rating agency ICRA, an affiliate of Moody's, on Thursday terminated the services of its Managing Director and CEO Naresh Takkar, following appearance of his name in the IL&FS case."The board of directors of ICRA Limited, at a meeting today, after due consideration and taking into account the best interests of the company and its various stakeholders, has decided to terminate the employment of Naresh Takkar as Managing Director and Group CEO of ICRA, effective immediately," ICRA said in a regulatory filing.The ICRA board will commence a search for a replacement, it said.Takkar was sent on forced leave in July following a review by the rating agency pending an enquiry into the "concerns" raised by the capital markets watchdog SEBI.The agency has appointed chief financial officer Vipul Agarwal as the interim chief operating officer.[caption id="attachment_5251861" align="alignleft" width="380"] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption]Action against Takkar has been taken "pending enquiry into the concerns raised in an anonymous representation, that was forwarded to the company by the Securities and Exchange Board", said the agency that is majority by international rating agency Moody's, in July.Agarwal, who was appointed Interim COO on 1 July 2019, will remain responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Company until a CEO is appointed, ICRA said."ICRA remains committed to ensuring the independence and integrity of its ratings process and sound corporate governance."Takkar's forced leave in July was seen as an unprecedented step, a first in the industry, which occurred at a time when the rating agencies were under a cloud following the IL&FS debacle.The infra lender was enjoying top ratings right till the time of its first default in late August last year.Earlier in May, there were reports that the ICRA brass was being probed for influencing the 'AAA' rating on IL&FS and had hired KPMG to look into the allegations.Takkar had 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.--With PTI inputs