Zee appoints interim committee to run company affairs after SEBI ban on Punit Goenka

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. has appointed an interim committee to run the daily affairs of the company after the stock market regulator barred Punit Goenka from holding a board or a key managerial position over alleged diversion of funds.

The interim committee of senior executives is aimed at ensuring “smooth operations” of the broadcaster, according to a company spokesperson. It will be “under the supervision of the Board and will seek its guidance on all matters pertaining to the Company”.

The spokesperson declined to name the members of the committee.

SEBI had barred Goenka, managing director and chief executive officer at Zee; and Chairman Emeritus Subhash Chandra on June 12 over allegations of fund diversion. The Securities Appellate Tribunal upheld the market regulator’s order.

Goenka was the only executive director on the board of the company. Following SEBI’s decision to bar him from the position, the board now comprises four non-executive directors: R Gopalan, Adesh Kumar Gupta, Sasha Gulu Mirchandani and Vivek Mehra, Chief Financial Officer Rohit Kumar Gupta and Company Secretary Ashish Agarwal. Bloomberg Quint