Zee-Sebi: A chequered past

The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) ongoing investigations into the role of Zee Entertainment MD & CEO Punit Goenka in the alleged fund diversion that led to the collapse of the proposed $10 billion merger with Culver Max International has drawn stiff criticism from Zee group founder Subhash Chandra.

In a letter to the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on January 16, a few days before Sony decided to pull the plug on the deal, Chandra alleged that “the Indian market regulator of “acting with a predetermined mind” and requested the finance minister to take the necessary steps “to safeguard the interest of the minority shareholders of Zee”.