Nawaz Modi, the estranged wife of Raymond Group Chairman and Managing Director Gautam Singhania, claimed that there is an ongoing bid to remove her from the company’s board.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Nawaz Modi said, “They are (using) invalid grounds for my removal. Has the major shareholder promotor lost his confidence in me for doing my job, doing my duty? He (Gautam Singhania) has lost his confidence in me because I am calling him out. I am going to be detailing these points.”
Three privately held Raymond Group companies – JK Investors (JKI) (Bombay), Raymond Consumer Care (RCCL) and Smart Advisory and Finserve – have already removed Nawaz Modi from their boards.
Though Raymond Ltd, the listed entity, has yet to propose her removal, Modi alleges that Gautam Singhania is attempting to exert influence over the decision.
It may be noted that Nawaz Modi’s statement comes a few months after divorce settlement talks with Gautam Singhania collapsed.
“This is his way of operating. Even all the AGMs are always held in Ratnagiri, so people or shareholders are not able to get there,” Modi said.
“These are his ‘Bhindi bazaar’ tactics, as even his father calls it, of strong-arming people in a bid to get them out,” she added.
Nawaz Modi, who demanded 75% of Gautam Singhania’s total net worth as part of the divorce settlement, said she wants her daughters to get 25% each.
“It is $1.4 billion on paper. My father-in-law, Dr Vijaypat Singhania, says I should be getting 50% of his wealth while Gautam (Singhania) should keep the other 50%. But I want 25% each for my daughter Niharika and Nysa,” she said.
On her estrangement with Gautam Singhania, Nawaz Modi said that things became problematic when she became a ‘whistleblower’ and started calling out Gautam’s ‘misdeeds’ and ‘mismanagement’ in running the company.
“He uses the company as his personal fiefdom. In fact, our personal problems arose just because I was already aware of too many of his misdeeds by then, and I was calling them out,” Nawaz claimed.
Nawaz Modi had also alleged that Gautam Singhania assaulted her and one of her minor daughters on his birthday last year, leading to a police complaint being filed against him.
“The incident happened after I started calling him out for his misdeeds. I started calling him out in August 2023 and the incident happened in September on his birthday,” she said.
“He slapped, kicked, punched our minor daughter and me for several minutes non-stop. I filed a police complaint. Subsequently, I was hospitalised for several days and came out with a broken back. I went straight to the police for a further statement,” Nawaz Modi said.
