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The Bombay High Court (HC) has sentenced Ketan Parekh to one-year rigorous imprisonment. The Special Court of the HC said that Parekh, Hiten Dalal and Canfina officials entered into a criminal conspiracy.

In the scam, Parekh, Dalal and Canfina officials had allegedly siphoned off Rs 47.70 crore. All the accused who were sentenced today can actually go to the Supreme Court (SC) and appeal. All of them have been given bail until the 31 July and they can appeal before the SC.

The Judge, while pronouncing his sentence said that Ketan Parekh was seen as being the main conspirator behind this entire Rs 47.7 crore Canfina scam. He is being seen as the main mover and as the person who hatched this conspiracy.

However, in an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, Ketan Parekh clarified his side saying, the judge has never ever named him as a main conspirator in the case. "In fact, he named two other people as main conspirators. The projection that it’s a 'Ketan Parekh case,' is wrong, he added. "It’s not a Ketan Parekh case at all. In whole of 1992, there was only one matter and this was the only transaction where my name was involved," he said.

Excerpts from CNBC-TV18’s exclusive interview with Ketan Parekh:

Q: The prosecution case is that Canfina’s money was being transferred to Can Bank mutual fund by default. But instead of that money going back to Canfina it was being routed to you - your initial comments on that and of course the judgement that has been handed out to you?

A: What the news channels need to understand is what the transaction was. Canfina transferred certain money to CanBank Mutual Fund. We had a transaction with CanBank Mutual Fund - only one transaction, which was purchase of 5 lakh of Reliance. CanBank Mutual Fund gave us the money. We have delivered the shares to CanBank Mutual Fund but the shares were only transferred in the name of CanBank Mutual Fund. That was the only transaction that we had in the whole case.

Q: You are saying this money has not found its way into your account at point of time, the figure of Rs 47 crore?

A: No. we received Rs 8.3 crore; we transferred on the same day Rs 8.25 crore to the broker from whom we received the Reliance deliveries and the deliveries were duly given to CanBank Mutual Fund and the shares were duly transferred in the name of CanBank Mutual Fund.

Q: What is your stated position right now? Are you going to appeal this and there is of course a lot of talk about the fact that the CBI believes the sentenced handed out to you from their perspective is not as harsh as this should have been. So there is one probably a lobby of CBI that’s going to probably approach the higher court for this sentence but what is your stated position?

A: I cannot comment on what CBI feels. But my role in this whole transaction was my firm had done a transaction for 5 lakh for Reliance, we relieved the shares, we made payment to the broker, we received the money from CanBank Mutual Fund and we delivered the shares to CanBank Mutual Fund. The shares were duly transferred in the CanBank Mutual Fund’s name and the transaction gets over.

I think your channel is projecting me as a main conspirator. I think your people must be in the Courtroom; the judge never ever named me as a main conspirator in the matter. In fact, he named two other people as main conspirators. Your people can find out but as it is projected that it’s a 'Ketan Parekh case,' which itself is wrong. It’s not a Ketan Parekh case at all. In whole of 1992, there was only one matter and this was the only transaction where my name was involved.

Q: How do you take things forward from here because as we are given to understand there is another stage of appeal that the accused or the people charged with, can go in for - what is your course of action from here?

A: We have option of appealing in the Supreme Court and we will take that option in due time.

Q: What happens to the other six entities that were associated with you from hereon is this going to be any individual appeal that you will make to a special bench on the Supreme Court or is this going to be done in cohesion because these are all six names associated with the same case?

A: I think everyone has the option of appealing and most of us would be appealing in the Supreme Court.

Q: There is no other thing that the prosecution has actually charged you with, apart from this Rs 47 crore, is there?

A: One more thing I need to clarify - your channel is again projecting that there is a loss of Rs 47 crore to Canfina or CanBank Mutual Fund. In fact there is not a single rupee loss to either Canfina or to CanBank Mutual Fund.

Q: I do not think it has been projected as a loss, I think it has been projected more as a transfer of funds.

A: I saw on your channel that there was a loss to Canfina of Rs 47 crore - the money is used by some of the other brokers and were duly returned after four-five months. But we were not involved in that leg of the transaction. Our transaction was only to receive money and deliver the shares, which we had done in due course, in the time limit given to us by the mutual fund and the transaction was over over there.

Q: Would you also want to make a statement on Mr. Parekh, you uncle as well as Mr. Dalal’s participation essentially in this act because they have charged with criminal conspiracy?

A: My uncle has been charged because he was the partner of the firm at that point of time and I cannot comment anything on Mr Dalal; I think its better you ask him.

Q: At this point of time, is there an absolute ban of you investing in the Indian stock markets directly?

A: I wanted to talk only about the matter about the case because the channel was projecting it wrongly - that’s all I want to say.

Source: Moneycontrol.com