SEBI cancels registration of 19 defunct Foreign Venture Capital Investors companies

Capital markets regulator SEBI on Tuesday cancelled the registration of 19 defunct FVCI (Foreign Venture Capital Investors) after they failed to meet the eligibility criteria.

The 19 entities include Axis Capital Mauritius, Axis India Infrastructure Holdings, Blackstone Capital Partners (Singapore) VI FVCI Pte Ltd, P6 Asia Holding Investments (Cyprus) Ltd, Pequot India Mauritius IV, Ltd and Omega FVCI Investments Pte Ltd.

In its order, SEBI noted that these defunct FVCI companies are no longer in existence as incorporated entities in their respective jurisdictions and thereby no longer satisfy the condition of being an entity incorporated outside India as stipulated in the FVCI Regulations.

The regulator observed from the website of the Business Registration Department of Mauritius, Cyprus and Singapore, that the status of 19 FVCIs in their parent jurisdictions was defunct.

Additionally, the entities had not informed SEBI about the change in their regulatory status -- the entities becoming defunct in their home jurisdiction.

Also, FVCIs had not submitted quarterly data on the SEBI Intermediaries(SI) portal for even 4 calendar quarters -- from the quarter ended March 31, 2023, to the quarter ended December 31, 2023.

Further, it was observed that 6 of these FVCIs had never filed any quarterly reports, and 4 other FVCIs had filed as long back as FY 2012-13.

In his 17-page order, SEBI Chief General Manager G Ramar said," 19 FVCIs did not intimate SEBI about the change in their regulatory status i.e. the eligibility criteria, did not file their quarterly filings and also could not satisfy the condition of being an entity incorporated outside India and accordingly violated the provisions of ...the FVCI Regulation."

Accordingly, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has cancelled "the Certificate of Registration of the 19 defunct FVCI companies i.e. the Noticees."