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.

SecureKloud Technologies Limited has announced the appointment of two new Independent Directors to its Board, strengthening its governance structure with experienced professionals from academic and corporate backgrounds.

Board Meeting and Appointments

The company's Board of Directors convened on February 12, 2026, from 11:15 am to 12:40 pm, where they approved the appointment of two Additional Directors based on recommendations from the Nomination Remuneration Committee.

New Director Appointments

The Board appointed Mr. Duraiswamy Basuvaiah (DIN: 09258691) and Mrs. Annaganala Srimathi Venkata Narayanan (DIN: 08328823) as Independent, Non-Executive Directors for a five-year term.

Mr. Duraiswamy Basuvaiah

Mr. Basuvaiah brings over 30 years of experience in institutional leadership, governance, regulatory compliance, and innovation oversight. He currently serves as an Independent Director on the Board of a listed Indian company and holds the position of Principal & Professor at JSS College of Pharmacy, a premier higher education institution in India. His expertise spans corporate governance, risk oversight, technology-enabled research ecosystems, ethics, and human capital development.

Mrs. Annaganala Srimathi Venkata Narayanan

Mrs. Narayanan is an experienced education professional with over 14 years of leadership experience in academic governance, institutional coordination, stakeholder engagement, and social development. She currently serves as an Independent Director at California Software Company Limited (Calsoft). With a strong academic foundation in Economics (M.A., M. Phil), she brings valuable experience in people management, ethics, compliance-oriented environments, and ESG-aligned initiatives.

Regulatory Compliance

Both directors have been confirmed as not being debarred from holding office by virtue of any order by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) or any other authority. The appointments comply with Regulation 30 of SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015.

Board Relationships

While both new directors are independent of the company's existing management and board members, they share a professional connection as both serve as Independent Directors of California Software Company Limited. This shared experience in the technology sector adds relevant industry expertise to SecureKloud's board composition.

The appointments reflect SecureKloud Technologies' commitment to strengthening its board governance with experienced professionals who bring complementary skills in academic leadership, corporate governance, and technology sector expertise.