Bangalore: Unleashing a barrage of charges against Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, the second whistleblower fired more salvos at him, with the allegations ranging from his unaccounted travels to grabbing the company’s sponsored vantage seats at premier tennis tournaments across the world for personal use.
“Salil Parekh keeps visiting the US every month in order to retain his Green Card status. I have also heard that he has on several occasions gone to the US but has not visited any client or our offices. Then, what is the purpose of his visits? It is evident that Sunil Parekh is telling you a lie,” said the whistleblower in an unsigned and undated letter to the company’s chairman and co-founder Nandan Nilekani and independent directors on the board.
Claiming to be an employee in the company’s finance department, the whistleblower complained that he was unable to disclose his identity fearing retaliation for the damning disclosures he was making against Parekh.
“I am an employee working in the finance department. I am submitting this whistleblower complaint as the matter is so volatile that I fear retaliation if I disclose my identity. Please excuse me for the same, but the matter is of grave importance,” said the employee in the complaint, which was accessed by this agency Monday night.
In a belated response on the second whistleblower’s letter to the board, Infosys told this agency Tuesday in an e-mail that ‘the undated whistleblower’s complaint largely deals with allegations relating to the CEO’s international travels to the US and Mumbai’.
“One board member received two anonymous complaints September 30, one dated September 20, titled ‘Disturbing unethical practices’ and the second undated with the title ‘Whistleblower Complaint’,” said the company, attributing the admission to Nilekani’s statement October 21-22.
The whistleblower also alleged that Parekh was abusing his high office to endear himself to high profile universities in the US, promising donations with a view to guaranteeing admissions to his children.
“He (Parekh) is also using the connections of the company’s Global Academic Relations (GAR) team to secure seats in reputed institutions for his children,” the whistleblower claimed.
The whistleblower also said it was shameful of Parkeh to ‘project’ his performance and grab 108 per cent bonus in April 2019, way before other subordinates who toiled and received bonus only in the range of 70-90 per cent in July/August 2019.
“How fair is that? Earlier, the founders would always ensure that all the people who worked hard would get rewarded and only then accept anything themselves. This is a huge let down,” the complaint noted.
“Instead of building a strong team and lead it, he (Parekh) indulges in creating confusion between the people by playing petty politics. He is operating through SMS and WhatsApp instructions and mostly over phone,” alleged the damning letter.
Claiming Parekh was one who does not even keep a record of his Microsoft Outlook calendar, and someone who skips committee meetings, the whistleblower questioned if Infosys needs such a chief executive at all.
“When all the senior people in the company are sufficient to run the company, why do we need such an unprofessional person to occupy a high chair?” asked the whistleblower.
Agencies