Ramaswamy clan fight takes toll of Chennai registrar - Livemint

A CBI official said there was an attempt by some of the company’s officials, led by Ramaswamy’s adopted son M.A.M.R. Muthiah, to seize control of the group. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint

New Delhi/Chennai: Tuesday’s arrest of the Chennai head of the Registrar of Companies, the ministry of corporate affairs arm that ensures that companies file all the information required by the Companies Act, is the latest manifestation of a messy fight between a father and his adopted son for the control of a Rs.4,000 crore business empire.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Manuneethi Cholan (named after a 2 BC Chola King renowned for his fairness and justice) “after he accepted Rs.10 lakh as bribe” from M.A.M. Ramaswamy , a CBI official said.

Ramaswamy has also been made an accused in the first information report as the bribe-giver, but not arrested, the official said.

The bribe, according to the official who asked not to be identified, was “to declare the proceedings of annual general body meeting (of Chettinad Cement Corp. Ltd) null and void”.

The meeting may have seen Ramaswamy’s removal as chairman of the company.

The CBI official said there was an attempt by some of the company’s officials, led by Ramaswamy’s adopted son M.A.M.R. Muthiah , to seize control of the group.

Ramaswamy, 84, couldn’t be reached for comment. Muthiah, 43, did not respond to calls and an SMS seeking comment.

Ramaswamy, who shares his lineage with India’s former finance minister P. Chidambaram , comes from a family of bankers that, starting in the early 19th century, created a business empire.

A.C. Muthiah , head of the M.A. Chidambaram Group of which SPIC was a part, and former head of the Board of Control of Cricket in India, is Ramaswamy’s cousin.

Ramaswamy himself owns a stable of thoroughbred race horses and is believed to be the first horse owner to win over 500 Classics (India has five Classic races every season).

Ramaswamy’s Chettinad Group—all of its companies are privately held—has interests in cement, information technology, education, healthcare, plantations, shipping, transportation, granite and logistics.

In late July, Ramaswamy filed a complaint with the Chennai police that he was facing a threat to his life from people around him who had installed several security cameras around his house.

In a report in the Chennai edition of The Times of India, Ramaswamy said his house was surrounded by 20 security men carrying batons. He blamed the head of security of a company that is part of his group, Chettinad Security Services , for this.

The Times of India quoted the head of security, identified as Lalit Kumar, as saying he worked for M.A.M.R. Muthiah and had nothing to do with the complaint.

It also quoted an unnamed Chennai police officer as saying a “close relative” of Ramaswamy had admitted, after being questioned by the police, that he had installed the cameras “for Ramaswamy’s safety” and that he had been “misunderstood”.

The annual general meeting of Chettinad Cements, to be held on Wednesday according to the company’s annual report, will seek to “appoint a director in place of Dr MAM Ramaswamy who retires by rotation in accordance with the articles of association of the company and being eligible, offers himself for re-appointment”.

A person familiar with the matter said the meeting could have seen Ramaswamy being displaced.

“There is a power struggle between father and son and the son was not allowing the father to do the things he was doing,” added this person, who asked not to be identified.

Ramaswamy was a member of the Rajya Sabha between 2004 and 2010. He was elected with the backing of the Janata Dal (S) from Karnataka.

Corporate affairs secretary Naved Masood said in New Delhi the department would act against Cholan once it received a report from CBI.

The CBI official said there have been other complaints against Cholan in the past.