AS DOES KP
» Triumph Securities UK, Plc, was sold out once KP's woes began in 2001
» No connection with Jermyn, not allowed to travel abroad, busy fighting cases, answering courts
» The problem was with me, not with Dharmesh. His only problem was that he was a director on Triumph International Finance, which got into trouble

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When the 2001 securities scandal erupted, SEBI promptly debarred TIFIL from trading in the markets and the CBI duly got into the act by arresting KP and three other TIFIL directors. Doshi flew out to London, apparently to evade arrest, following which an Interpol Red Corner Notice was issued against him. It's from here on that things get hazy. According to SEBI, in June 2002, Triumph Securities UK Plc, a 100 per cent subsidiary of TIFIL, was renamed Jermyn Capital Partners. Doshi, who was Managing Director of TIFIL, became a director of Jermyn, looking after key functions, even after the purported sale of Triumph Securities UK, says SEBI, which is pretty sure that Jermyn Capital was created in order to circumvent its ban on KP from dealing in the Indian markets. Jermyn's contention of course is that Doshi resigned as MD of TIFIL in December 2001 (before the sale to Jermyn Investments and Holdings), that Doshi is employed as a director and compliance officer, and that Jermyn Capital was not incorporated by KP or his related entities. As Doshi told BT: "Hugh Hamilton Andrews owns 100 per cent of Jermyn Capital Partners Plc and 40 per cent of Jermyn Capital LLC. At any stage, I and Ketan Parekh did not hold any shares in Jermyn Capital Partners Plc or Triumph Securities UK Plc. I am absolutely clear that I have done nothing wrong at any stage and am being victimised. My family has never been in stockbroking business. I have been in capital markets for the past 20 years after completing chartered accountancy. In the last 20 years, not once has there been an allegation of wrong doing, except dragging me in to various matters by various agencies in the Ketan Parekh matter."

Meantime, Doshi's woes are mounting. In October 2005, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him by the court of honourable Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ahmedabad (at the instance of the CBI), and his passport has been revoked. "The focus appears to have shifted from KP to me," quips Doshi. Jermyn, for its part, has challenged SEBI's stance (which has taken the shape of an interim order), and Doshi will doubtless pull out all stops to prove his innocence.

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Basically one of our old partners in Triumph (Dharmesh Doshi) is an employee with Jermyn Capital. SEBI thinks I am involved with Jermyn. I have nothing to do with Jermyn. I am not allowed to travel out of the country. How can I trade? I continue to be banned from operating in the market (for 14 years, of which four are now over). I am more busy fighting our cases, attending and answering courts, trying to resolve matters. SEBI does not allow us to have any direct or indirect association with the market. But we have appealed against this order.

What is the equation between you and Dharmesh Doshi?

It (Triumph Securities UK, Plc) was our overseas subsidiary. Dharmesh Doshi was abroad. He (Doshi) was allowed to travel. The problem was with me and not with Dharmesh. His only problem was that he was one of the directors of Triumph International Finance (the locally-listed entity), which got into trouble. He has been unnecessarily dragged into this. The (Interpol) Red Corner alert against him is because we owed money to a private client. Personally he doesn't owe anybody anything...you are trying to link Dharmesh with me, which is stupid. Anyone can claim to trade on my behalf. Nothing can be ruled out, but it's stupid to make such a conclusion. It's a grey area. The accusation that Dharmesh is trading on my behalf needs to be substantiated. The matter is in court. Dharmesh and Jermyn have gone to court. I have nothing to do with them. Why will I go to court in this matter?

So you've not participated in the ongoing bull run?

Yes, this is the biggest bull rally, and we've missed it. We have eight agencies to answer to. I had six offices, only one is left. Of my 400 employees, only 40 are left with me. We have to run the office just to answer queries from the various agencies like the CBI, the Income-Tax department, SEBI, and-now the new one-the Serious Fraud Investigation Office. There are 13-14 cases pending. We have been suspended and debarred from trading. Where then is the question that we are trading. With surveillance from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and SEBI, which is the best in the world today, how can we even dream of trading?

Are you allowed to trade in other markets (international or non-equity)?

I am not banned from accessing international markets. I could trade in commodities, but we don't understand commodities. True, I can trade anywhere in the world in equities, and also buy Indian shares (via overseas markets). But the question is not whether I can trade or not. The question is: Who will trade with me? Ketan Parekh and Harshad Mehta are names that are globally associated with scams. Besides, who will trade with you when you do not have a passport, can't travel...

Do you think you have been unfairly targeted?

Technically from a market point of view, we had not done anything wrong. I got into trouble because I tried to meet my commitments. I borrowed money from banks to meet my commitments in the market. We have paid something like Rs 2,000 crore to the exchanges in the last 2-3 months (before the supposed scam broke out) when the market was falling. The amount was paid to make settlement in the exchanges. But we did something stupid, so there's no point blaming others. We took a position and then the market collapses-both the Indian market and foreign market collapse. Suddenly the stock trading at $400 is quoting at $4. People across the world lost this type of money at that time. Since we borrowed from banks, the value of our assets, which were kept with the banks, came down. The CBI has alleged that we took a lot of money out of India. But tell me, how do you transfer money! What happened is that OCBs (overseas corporate bodies) that were clients of Triumph sold shares. Only the selling of the OCBs is being taken into account, not the buying side. Like any FII or OCB, they were buying and selling.

You've been accused of having a nexus with promoters, and rigging up the infamous K-10 stocks.

Every agency is looking into them (our alleged misdeeds). It's very easy to say something, to allege something. Till March 2001, I had not received a single notice from SEBI. Thereafter, we received something like 1,000 notices from them. Suddenly, whatever we did for the past two years was wrong. And what are these K-10 stocks-it was a media play as K-10 rhymed with Ketan.

Do you see yourself getting back to the market one day?

I am not going to answer anything on the market. As I said, we have enough things on our hands. We are trying to resolve our problems, and we are making progress. Our priority is to see that our depositors are paid; we are paying back Madhavpura Mercantile Cooperative Bank (MMCB) slowly (he owes the bank Rs 380 crore). We had assets (which have since appreciated), and are also getting back our receivables from clients. Then, property is being liquidated, stock being sold...We will be back one day. The willingness is there, but the capability has been taken away. It all depends on the legal system. If they allow us tomorrow, we will be back in the market tomorrow. But our focal point today is to clear our liabilities. If we do that, we could be back in two-three years.

The stock of Triumph International Finance of late has witnessed some activity? (The stock witnessed huge interest in August-September, touching a high of Rs 11.80 on August 31, 2005. In the same period, an average volumes of 11,500 shares changed hands on the BSE, compared to the current volmes of 150 shares.)

We find it surprising that the stock is being traded in the first place. People still hope...