The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has passed a compounding order against Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd and five of its directors and senior officials for multiple violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), bringing the related adjudication proceedings to a close. The order covers Apollo Hospitals and its directors and officials, including Preetha Reddy, Suneetha Reddy, S.K. Venkatraman, Akhileswaran Krishnan and S.M. Krishnan.

According to a press release issued by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), the RBI issued the compounding order after the agency gave its “No Objection” in the matter, resulting in the closure of adjudication proceedings related to the FEMA contraventions.

The ED had filed a complaint before the Adjudicating Authority after completing its FEMA investigation. The alleged violations included receipt of foreign direct investment (FDI) worth about ₹860 crore in the multi-brand retail sector, where FDI was prohibited at the time; issuance of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) involving around ₹70 crore; and breach of the overall foreign shareholding cap of 51% applicable to multi-brand retail trading, involving approximately ₹870 crore.

Subsequently, the ED issued a no-objection certificate, enabling the RBI to proceed with the compounding process. The RBI imposed a one-time compounding fee of ₹17.8 crore on Apollo Hospitals and ₹18 lakh each on the five directors and officials.

“This has resulted into termination of adjudication proceedings under the provisions of FEMA against the company,” the ED said in a release.