- Indian corporate affairs ministry fines LinkedIn India, CEO Satya Nadella, and others for violating significant beneficial ownership norms.
- Failure to disclose significant beneficial owners as required by the Companies Act, 2013, led to penalties.
- LinkedIn India fined Rs 7 lakh, while Nadella and others face fines of Rs 2 lakh each.
LinkedIn India, owned by Microsoft, and its CEO Satya Nadella, along with eight other individuals, have been fined by the Indian corporate affairs ministry for violating significant beneficial ownership (SBO) norms. The ministry’s Registrar of Companies (RoC) found that LinkedIn India and the individuals failed to comply with disclosure requirements outlined in Section 90 of the Companies Act, 2013. This section mandates companies to identify and disclose details of their significant beneficial owners.
The RoC’s 63-page order specifically identified Satya Nadella and Ryan Roslansky, LinkedIn’s global CEO, as significant beneficial owners of LinkedIn India. Both executives failed to report their ownership as required under Section 90(1) of the Act. LinkedIn India faces a penalty of Rs 7 lakh, while Nadella and Roslansky were fined Rs 2 lakh each. Additional fines were imposed on seven other individuals associated with the company.
LinkedIn India stated that they comply with the laws of the countries they operate in and are reviewing the order to determine their next steps. The RoC order cited the company’s failure to notify the significant beneficial owners as per the Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) Rules, 2018, resulting in further violations under Section 90(5) of the Act.
