SecureKloud Technologies Limited has disclosed the remittance of a penalty amount totaling Rs. 3.5 crore to the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) following directions from the tribunal's order dated March 6, 2026. The disclosure was made under Regulation 30 read with Schedule III of SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.

Penalty Payment Details

The penalty payment was distributed between the company and its promoter as follows:

Regulatory Compliance

The payment was made in compliance with the directions issued by the Hon'ble Securities Appellate Tribunal through their order dated March 6, 2026. The company had previously intimated the stock exchanges about this matter through reference SK/CHN/2025-26/E60 dated March 9, 2026.

Official Disclosure

The disclosure was signed by Jayashree Vasudevan, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer of SecureKloud Technologies Limited, and was digitally authenticated on March 27, 2026. The communication was addressed to both the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and BSE Limited, where the company's shares are listed under the symbol EQ-SECURKLOUD and scrip code 512161 respectively.

The company stated that the penalty remittance was completed on March 27, 2026, ensuring full compliance with the tribunal's directions. This disclosure fulfills the company's obligation to keep investors and regulatory authorities informed about material developments affecting the organization.

SecureKloud Technologies Limited has received partial relief from the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in its appeal against SEBI orders related to alleged financial irregularities. The tribunal's order dated March 6, 2026, addressed multiple appeals filed by the company and its key management personnel.

Tribunal's Decision

The Securities Appellate Tribunal partially allowed the company's appeal, specifically setting aside SEBI's direction to recover Rs. 3.83 crores from promoter and Chairman & Managing Director Suresh Venkatachari. However, the tribunal upheld the remaining portions of SEBI's orders, including penalties imposed on the company and its officials.

Background of SEBI Investigation

SEBI had initiated investigation into SecureKloud's affairs for Financial Year 2017-18 to 2020-21 following complaints alleging inflation of financial statements. The investigation revealed that the company's statutory auditor Deloitte had pointed out serious irregularities and filed a report with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs on September 13, 2019, before resigning on November 15, 2019.

SEBI appointed Grant Thornton Bharat LLP to conduct a forensic audit on March 25, 2021. The forensic audit report dated June 14, 2022, suggested that the company was booking fictitious revenue through three entities controlled by its promoters/directors.

Key Allegations and Findings

The tribunal confirmed SEBI's findings on three main allegations:

Revenue Manipulation

• Overstating revenue and receivables through fictitious transactions with entities Ensyst, Idol, and Intuit
• Booking fictitious revenue by overseas subsidiaries from customers including Sutter Health, Kaiser, Medidata, and Shire
• Overstatement of expenses including consultancy charges to inflate the balance sheet

Financial Impact

Tribunal's Reasoning on Recovery Direction

Regarding the Rs. 3.83 crores recovery direction, the tribunal noted that Suresh Venkatachari had pledged his shares to secure a Rs. 25 crore loan from IFCI for the company. When the company couldn't repay, IFCI sold the pledged shares to recover the outstanding amount. The company's board had resolved in meetings dated November 13, 2018, and April 10, 2019, to compensate Venkatachari and adjust the Rs. 3.83 crores against amounts payable to him.

The tribunal found this recovery direction "wholly superfluous and unnecessary" given the board resolutions and the fact that Venkatachari had already repaid the amount through overseas subsidiaries.

Penalties Upheld

The tribunal confirmed penalties against:

• Company officials: Including CFOs, compliance officers, and audit committee members
• Key Management Personnel: Promoters and directors for their roles in the alleged manipulation
• Independent Directors: For failing in their oversight responsibilities despite red flags raised by statutory auditors

The tribunal emphasized that the violations were in "utter disregard to the integrity of securities market" and designed to mislead investors. It noted that the company had disregarded findings of its own statutory auditors and replaced them rather than acting on their observations.

Current Status

SecureKloud disclosed the tribunal's order through a regulatory filing dated March 9, 2026, stating that while the appeal was allowed in part regarding the recovery direction, the remaining portions of SEBI's orders remain undisturbed. The company has already paid Rs. 2.00 crores out of the total Rs. 4.00 crores penalty imposed by SEBI.