Infosys: Another whistle-blower letter trains guns at CEO Parekh

'Rs 22 lakh spent on Parekh's travel as he still has not shifted to Bengaluru'

infosys-parekh-bhanu Infosys MD & CEO, Salil Parekh [left] with former CFO M.D. Ranganath | Bhanu Prakash Chandra

A month after a whistle-blower letter against CEO Salil Parekh put IT major Infosys in the dock, another similar letter has surfaced accusing him of not adhering to company standards. "Though it is a year and eight months since Parekh joined the company, he operates from Mumbai in violation of the condition that the CEO has to be based in Bengaluru and not Mumbai. What is stopping the board to insist on his movement to Bengaluru," the whistle-blower asks in the unsigned and undated letter to Infosys chairman and co-founder Nandan Nilekani and independent directors on the board.

The whistle-blower, who claimed to be an employee of the finance department at Infosys, further noted that the company has incurred Rs 22 lakh towards Parekh's airfare and local transportation as he flies to Bengaluru from Mumbai twice every month. "Four business class tickets per month plus home to airport drop in Mumbai, airport pick-up in Bengaluru and drop on the return journey," alleged the whistle-blower. The anonymous whistle-blower, who fears retaliation in case his/her identity is revealed, wondered why should the company incur the commutation charges of the CEO when all the other employees pay for their transport from home to office and back. 

"Please initiate action to recover this money (transport expenses) from the CEO immediately. Mr Parekh is a smart cookie. He has taken an apartment on rent in Bengaluru to hoodwink people who may question him, but that does not mean he has relocated to Bengaluru. He has done this with malicious intentions to mislead the board and the company's founders (sic)," IANS quoted from the letter. The letter alleged that Parekh leaves Mumbai at 10am and reaches Bengaluru by 11.30am and office by 1.30pm. After spending an afternoon in office, he is off to Mumbai by 2pm the next day, the letter says. 

"This kind of involvement of the CEO in the company is the worst that we have seen till date. This, unfortunately, is not setting the right example for other employees to follow. Incidentally, it has become the norm. Many people have started working from home and nobody to ask them any questions. Even if tough managers want to ask questions, how would they as the CEO himself is working from home," the whistle-blower recalled.

The fresh set of allegations comes in the backdrop of the previous complaints against Parekh and Infosys CFO Nilanjan Roy. The duo were accused of indulging in "unethical practices" to boost short-term revenue and profits. An internal probe has been initiated in response to the complaint filed by a group that calls itself "ethical employees". 

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