TCS Sacks Six Employees, Bans Six Staffing Firms In 'Bribes-For-Jobs' Scam: N Chandrasekaran

Speaking during the TCS annual general meeting Chandrasekaran explained the entire investigation process adding that three more employees are still being investigated.

Explaining how the scam came to light, Chandrasekaran said that the wrongdoings were first pointed out by two whistle-blowers in February and March.

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran on Thursday said that TCS has taken disciplinary action against six employees who were found guilty of the alleged 'Bribes-For-Jobs' scam. Speaking during the TCS annual general meeting Chandrasekaran explained the entire investigation process adding that three more employees are still being investigated, reported MoneyControl.

Speaking to the shareholders, Chandrasekaran said, “We found six employees who did not follow ethical conduct. While we cannot quantify what favours they got but they certainly behaved in a way that they were favouring certain firms. We have banned all those six employees and six such BA companies. There are investigations pending on three more employees.”

“For a Tata Group company, the most important thing expected of every employee is ethical conduct and integrity in operations. That comes ahead of any financial performance. So whenever there is a violation of ethical conduct by any employee, it pains me and all the leaders very deeply. We take it extremely seriously and will take very strong actions,” Chandrasekaran added, as per the report. 

The company is also looking at the whole BA supply management process to examine what the weaknesses are, and will completely tidy the process to ensure that we do not have such incidents, he added.

This was the first time a top executive from the firm has openly spoken about the entire investigation process involving the scam. 

Explaining how the scam came to light, Chandrasekaran said that the wrongdoings were first pointed out by two whistle-blowers in February and March.

“The complaints were about certain favouritism done and favours received in recruitment of business associates,” he said.

Chairman N Chandrasekaran disclosed that the company had received two distinct whistleblower complaints. The first complaint, filed in late February, concerned the appointment of business associates or contractual workers in the United States. The second complaint, lodged in March, pertained to similar matters within India.

Following these complaints, TCS conducted an investigation into the allegations. While Chandrasekaran acknowledged that he could not quantify the exact benefits received by the implicated employees, he emphasised that their behavior clearly favored specific firms, leading to their subsequent ban.

Earlier reports indicated that TCS had suspended certain employees for breaching the company's code of conduct. These reports also mentioned estimations suggesting that the gains obtained by the employees amounted to approximately Rs 100 crore.