Shares of Fino Payments Bank on Monday witnessed high volatility, with the scrip falling as much as 12 percent during early trade before paring losses later in the session.
The stock was trading at Rs 188 apiece, 2.31 percent lower than its previous day’s close. The heightened volatility followed the company’s disclosure to exchanges on Friday regarding the arrest of the payments bank’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Rishi Gupta, under the GST Acts.
However, in an exchange filing on Monday, the company clarified that it had not evaded any GST dues and was compliant with all regulations.
“Investigation by the DGGI was in relation to the program manager(s) associated with multiple banks and not on the GST compliance of the bank itself, and the bank and its officials have nothing to do with the business/actions of the program manager(s) in question,” it said in the regulatory filing.
Gupta was arrested under the provisions of Sections 132(1)(a) and 132(1)(i) of the CGST and SGST Act, 2017. GST authorities are investigating the alleged use of shell companies and payment aggregators to transfer illicit funds obtained through online real-money gaming.
Clarifying its position, the bank reiterated that it had nothing to do with the business or actions of the program manager(s) in question. It further stated that the bank does not engage in or promote any form of betting activity through any website or platform.
While the clarification came early in the morning, the stock opened over 11.5 percent lower on Monday and fell as much as 12.5 percent compared to its previous closing price. It later recovered, erasing losses and rising 3.22 percent above the previous session’s close.
The rally was short-lived as the stock again declined 2.65 percent, reflecting continued uncertainty around the company’s outlook. In its statement on Monday, the payments bank said it was cooperating with the agencies.
