Kalyan Jewellers Zooms 9% Following Motilal Oswal AMC Clarification on ‘Bribery’ Allegations

Following a 3-day losing streak, shares of Kalyan Jewellers surged by 9% in today’s session. This comes after asset manager Motilal Oswal AMC issued a statement clarifying rumors around its investments in the jewellery arm.

Labelling the allegations as "baseless, malicious, and defamatory”, the AMC refuted the rumours detailing that its fund managers were bribed to invest in Kalyan Jewellers. In a note Motilal Oswal said, “We categorically deny the baseless, malicious, and defamatory allegations circulating on social media against MOAMC and its officials. These baseless accusations are a deliberate attempt by individuals with vested interests to malign the good reputation that our firm and leadership have built over decades.”

Shares of Kalyan Jewellers reacted positively after the statement. As of 9:56 am, Kalyan Jewellers was trading at ₹542.20 in the NSE.

Previously, social media was flooded with reports highlighting potential misconduct by Motilal Oswal AMC in connection with shares of Kalyan Jewellers. The rumours also included speculations about the AMC detailing termination of a few managers over the issue.

Dismissing the bribery allegations as “absurd”, Ramesh Kalyanaraman, Executive Director of Kalyan Jewellers, said, “We have always conducted our businesses and interactions with all stakeholders with a very high level of integrity and transparency.”

“There have been no raids at any of our premises. It was just a rumour. Inventory level, as mentioned in our financial statement, goes through multiple levels of audit. We've repaid around Rs 450 crore debt over the last 18 months. This is in addition to around Rs 170 crore dividend payout,” Kalyanaraman said.

Amid negative reports, shares of Kalyan Jewellers fell nearly 30% in January. The downturn came after shares hit a record-high of ₹794.60 on January 2. As of noon, Kalyan Jewellers ₹538.45, up 7.31%.