Tata Sons Code of Conduct Violated, But Unintentionally: Probe Findings Against Top Executive

Tata Sons has concluded an internal probe against long-time executive and current Group Company Secretary Suprakash Mukhopadhyay, who failed to disclose his family's involvement in a wealth management company.

The three-member committee found that Mukhopadhyay breached the Tata Group’s Code of Conduct but stated the violation was not "intentional" nor aimed at "making a personal gain by compromising the interests of his employer entity (Tata Sons)," Mint reported.

The committee — comprising Nupur Mallick (Head of Human Resources, Tata Sons), Eruch N. Kapadia (finance executive at Tata Sons), and Sidharth Sharma (General Counsel at Tata Group) — submitted its report to Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran and other board members.

What Mukhopadhyay Is Accused Of

Earlier this month, Mint reported that Mukhopadhyay, associated with the Tata Group since 1988, potentially breached the company's Code of Conduct.

His daughter Shreemoyee and mother Paromita own a wealth management company named Divinion Advisory Services Pvt. Ltd.

A former Tata Group executive told Mint that Mukhopadhyay had approached him to either join his daughter’s wealth management firm or invest in it.

The current CEO of Divinion, Hormuz Bulsara, earlier served as COO of Tata Asset Management, while Adil Busha, who previously worked for Tata Pension Management, serves as the company's CFO.

In 2022, Tata Pension Management erroneously included Divinion in its list of 473 ‘Tata Group and sponsor’ companies. Tata Pension Management later said this disclosure was a mistake and promised to correct it.

What Tata Sons' Committee Found

According to the Mint report, the Tata Sons committee found that Mukhopadhyay failed to adequately disclose his ties with Divinion, solicited former Tata employees and advisors for the trust, and did not report transactions between Divinion and Tata entities where he held positions. However, the report emphasized there was no evidence of malicious intent or personal gain.

"However, there does not appear to be any intentional breach of Tata Code of Conduct or mala fide intent on his part to make a personal gain by compromising the interests of his employer entity (Tata Sons) or of the relevant Tata Group entities named in the news reports," the report stated.

During the investigation, Mukhopadhyay also admitted that Rs 20 lakh in CSR funds from Tata Investment Corp. were used to buy a property from his in-laws for the Divinion Trust. Tata Investment had also contributed another Rs 10 lakh in CSR funds to Divinion, where Mukhopadhyay’s family members are trustees.