The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has closed proceedings against Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd and five of its directors under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) after the company paid ₹17.76 crore to settle alleged contraventions.

A compounding order is essentially a legal settlement mechanism under FEMA.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday said that the order was passed after the agency issued a "No Objection" certificate to the RBI.

The order pertains to Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd and its directors and officers — Preetha Reddy, Suneetha Reddy, SK Venkatraman, Akhileswaran Krishnan and SM Krishnan.

The ED said it had initiated an investigation under FEMA based on "credible information" received by the agency. Following the investigation, the ED filed a complaint under Section 16 of FEMA before the Adjudicating Authority.

Subsequently, the company approached the RBI seeking compounding of the alleged contraventions under Section 15 of FEMA. Following a reference from the RBI, the ED issued a no-objection for compounding, after which the central bank passed the order.

According to the ED, the contraventions related to multiple foreign investment transactions.

The agency said Apollo Hospitals had received foreign direct investment (FDI) in a sector prohibited for FDI — retail trading — and subsequently received FDI without the requisite government approval. The amount involved in this contravention was stated to be ₹859.87 crore.

The ED also cited the issuance of Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) in alleged violation of FEMA regulations. The amount involved in this case was ₹70.02 crore.

Another contravention related to receiving foreign investment under the FII-PIS route that allegedly breached the 24% paid-up capital limit. The amount involved was ₹623.87 crore.

The agency further alleged that the company breached the overall sectoral cap of 51% prescribed for foreign shareholding in multi-brand retail trading. The amount involved in this contravention was ₹870.66 crore.

The ED said the contraventions were compounded upon a one-time payment of ₹17,76,80,121 by Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd. Each of the five directors and officers paid ₹18 lakh as compounding charges.

With the issuance of the compounding order and payment of the prescribed amount, the adjudication proceedings under FEMA against the company and the concerned directors and officers stand terminated, the agency said.
 

Published on: Jun 17, 2026 6:38 PM IST