New Delhi Harsh Shah has resigned as CEO of NYSE-listed Azure Power Global within two months of joining the company.
The company in a statement announced the appointment of Rupesh Agarwal as its Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The board will consider the appointment of a new permanent CEO. Agarwal joined the company earlier this month as chief strategy and commercial officer.
Board Chairman Alan Rosling said: “The Board deeply regrets Harsh’s unexpected decision to leave the Company only with effect from July 1, 2022. We wish him the very best for his future.”
The resignation comes at a time when the company’s accounts have been closed for FY22. Azure in its statement expressed its inability to give the deadline for submission of its annual report on ‘Form 20-F’ from the financial year ending March 2022.
The company reiterated that it is working closely with its advisors to close their annual accounts.
The original deadline for filing annual reports with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was August 1 and the extended deadline was August 16.
The company had said in a statement on August 12 that the delay in filing 2022 Form 20-F is due to the company’s ongoing review of its internal controls and compliance framework.
The New York Stock Exchange website stated that Azure “does not conform to the Quantitative/Qualitative Continuous Listing Standards or is delaying the filing of the annual or interim reports required pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.”
On August 23, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Azure Power Energy Ltd’s (APE) Ba2 senior unsecured rating and Azure Power Solar Energy Private Ltd’s (APSEP) Ba1 support to senior unsecured rating on review for days after the company filed its annual report. declared his inability to do so. by the extended time frame.
APE and APSEP are wholly owned subsidiaries of Azure Power Global.
“Governance risks are critical to rating action. The company has also experienced recent senior management turnover. The delay in internal review and the filing of Form 20-F is additional governance consideration material for rating action,” Moody’s said. .
Shah took over as the company’s CEO on July 1, 2022, after former CEO Ranjit Gupta and chief operating officer Murali Subramaniam resigned in April.
The resignation comes a month ahead of its annual meeting of shareholders. The company, in a statement on August 23, announced the holding of its annual general meeting on September 30.
In its statement on Monday, the company also said that it had received a whistleblower complaint in May 2022 alleging possible procedural irregularities and misconduct by certain employees at one of its subsidiary’s plants.
“As part of the company’s review of these allegations, it discovered deviations from safety and quality norms, and it has implemented mechanisms to address them and in doing so has strengthened safety and quality protocols,” it said. Told.
Azure’s audit committee, with the help of legal advisors and forensic accounting support, has also identified evidence of misappropriation of project data and information by certain employees. The company is implementing immediate remedial measures, and Azure is beginning to disclose the findings to the appropriate authorities, the statement said.
The company is supported by the Canadian Pension Fund, the CDPQ and the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), as well as the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group.
In August last year, OMERS bought a 19.4% stake in the company from IFC and IFC GIF Investment Company I for $219 million.
In May this year, it announced the appointment of Delphine Voeltzel, managing director of Omers Infrastructure, to its board.
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