Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder, Shivinder Singh sent to jail for contempt, Fortis-IHH deal in trouble

The Supreme Court of India sentenced Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh to six months imprisonment in contempt for concealing information related to wrongdoing while selling their stake in Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2008.

The court further imposed a fine on the brothers which if not paid will extend the imprisonment for another six months. The court refused to vacate the stay on open offer of 26% in Fortis Healthcare by IHH Healthcare Barhad, Malaysia's health giant. The court further ordered Delhi High Court to issue remand and carry out a forensic audit of the Fortis-IHH deal.

IHH Healthcare bought 31% stake in Fortis Healthcare in 2018 and made an open offer for another 26%. Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo challenged the deal to recover Rs. 3,600 crore of arbitration reward ordered by the Singapore tribunal in 2016. In January 2018, the Delhi High Court ordered that the reward is enforceable in India.