Shares of SME-listed
Kore Digital plunged 10% on Friday after market regulator Sebi passed an interim order against the company and three of its key managerial personnel after its investigation found evidence of manipulated financial statements, non-genuine subsidiaries, suspicious accounting entries and diversion of preferential issue proceeds.
Sebi on Thursday barred Kore Digital MD Ravindra Doshi, CEO Chaitanya Doshi and CFO Kashmira Doshi from trading in Kore Digital shares until further orders. The regulator has also barred the company and the three individuals from accessing the securities market to raise money from the public. The company’s shares hit the lower circuit at Rs 78.75 apiece on Friday morning.
Sebi has also directed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) not to allow Kore Digital to migrate from its SME platform, NSE Energe, to the mainboard segment until regulatory clearance. A forensic auditor will be appointed to examine the company’s books from the date of its listing in June 2023 till March 31, 2026.
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What are Sebi’s allegations against Kore Digital?
At the centre of Sebi’s investigation are three companies that were allegedly acquired by Kore Digital and whose revenues were later added to Kore’s financial statements. These include Franken Telecom, Wolter Infratech and KDL Realinfra. The company’s revenue from operations rose from Rs 21.27 crore in FY23 to Rs 408 crore in FY26. On average, around 75% of consolidated revenue came from subsidiaries.
Sebi alleged that Kore’s consolidated financial statements were misstated by around Rs 541.3 crore during FY25 and FY26, representing roughly 73% of its total revenue over the period. The market regulator highlighted that the three subsidiaries were incorporated just months before Kore acquired them. They shared the same registered address and had either little or no filing history with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
GST registrations of Franken and Wolter were cancelled shortly after registration, while KDL Realinfra’s registration became inactive on the same day it was registered, according to the order.Further, surprise visits conducted by NSE in June this year failed to establish the presence of these companies at their stated addresses. Similar findings were recorded for several step-down subsidiaries and entities that had financial transactions with Kore.
Sebi’s examination also raised serious concerns about the audit records of the subsidiaries. Its investigation revealed that the audit reports carrying CA Riya Goyal’s signature and stamp were forged.
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Kore Digital share price
Kore Digital is a specialised telecommunication infrastructure provider. The company debuted on the NSE Emerge platform back in June 2023. The company’s stock has fallen around 7% in a week and 51% in 2026 so far.
In the longer term, Kore Digital shares have delivered negative returns of over 62% in one year and 16% in three years. The company has a market capitalisation of a little over Rs 105 crore.
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Disclaimer: This article has been written by Debaroti Adhikary, who is not a SEBI-registered Research Analyst or an Investment Adviser. Debaroti Adhikary and his/her ‘relative(s)’ (as defined under Section 2(77) of the Companies Act, 2013) do not hold any financial interest in the companies mentioned in this article as of the date of publication. The views/recommendations mentioned in this article, wherever applicable, are those of the respective SEBI-registered Research Analyst/brokerage and have been reproduced/reported with due attribution. They should not be construed as the views or recommendations of The Economic Times Digital or the journalist. Readers are advised to consider the original research report and make their investment decisions based on their own assessment. Brokerage disclaimers here.
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