CIFCL AND INSURANCE COMMISSIONS : ~₹942 Crore Earned, A Related Insurer Involved. Disclosure Questions Remain ! ➡️CIFCL operates in insurance and reportedly earned commission of ~₹942 crore between 2024 and 2025. However, One insurer CIFCL works with is a related entity, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd. (CMGICL), This raises questions on the structure of insurance commissions and their disclosure. CMGICL TRANSACTIONS UNDER LENS: ~Rs. 3,040 Crore Paid To Group Companies, Yet Only ~Rs. 116 Crore Disclosed as Related Party Deals ! ➡️Of this, approximately ~₹1,578 crore was paid in the form of commission to several Murugappa group entities, including around ~Rs.1,036 crore recorded as professional fees paid to related companies. ➡️These transactions were recorded under insurance commission, work contracts, and professional fees. But CMGICL disclosed related party transactions of only approximately ~₹116 crore, potentially to avoid any scrutiny of their Japanese JV Partner Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company Limited, and shareholders of Listed Holding company, Chola Holding. The Additional transactions identified in our analysis do Not appear to have been reflected as RPT disclosures. The Promoter Payment Hub : How Murugappa Management Services Became a Conduit For Hundreds of Crores ! ➡️Another promoter-controlled hub emerges. Murugappa Management Services Pvt. Ltd. received approximately ₹675 crore from 17 Murugappa Group companies between FY2017–18 and FY2024–25. Of this, ~₹103 crore originated from CIFCL. After receipt, Murugappa Management Services paid ~ ₹365 crore onward through subsequent transactions. Of this amount, ~₹353 crore went to Murugappa family members and key close associates. ➡️The Top beneficiaries include payments exceeding ~₹55 crore to Ravichandran V, over ~ ₹44 crore to MM Venkatachalam, ~₹42 crore to MM Murugappan, ~₹34 crore to Murugappa Vellayan Subbiah, and ~₹35 crore to Murugappan Arunachalam Alagappan. ➡️Senior executives also feature : Ramesh K.B. Menon received ~₹54 crore. Srinivasan N received~₹21 crore. ➡️Murugappa Management Services also paid approximately ~₹5 crore to four Murugappa Group companies, including Ambadi Investments Ltd. These payments have also not been adequately disclosed as related party transactions! CIFCL & CONFLICT QUESTIONS : ~₹100+ Crore Paid to Auditors & Rating Agencies, Including Sister Concerns : ➡️CIFCL paid credit rating agencies and statutory auditors over ~₹100 crore in professional fees, which includes payments to their sister concerns in a potential conflict of interest. Follow The Aggregate : Thousands of Crores in Related Party Deals, only a Fraction Reported ! ➡️Taken together, the related party transactions identified in our analysis aggregate to ~₹10,000 crore. Yet, based on available records, only ~ ₹2,161 crore appears to have been disclosed by the companies involved as related party transactions! Cobrapost Asks the Glaring Unanswered Questions : ➡️How were thousands of crores routed through promoter-controlled entities such as Chola Business Services Ltd. and Murugappa Management Services Pvt. Ltd. without being consistently reflected as related-party transactions in statutory disclosures? ➡️What was the commercial rationale for large-value staffing, professional-fee, and work-contract payments made by a listed NBFC to promoter-controlled private entities over multiple years? ➡️How were substantial onward payments made to promoter family members and senior management personnel after funds passed through intermediary group entities, and why do these payments not appear to have been disclosed as related-party transactions? ➡️Why did Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd. disclose only ~₹116 crore as related-party transactions despite paying ~₹3,040 crore to Murugappa Group entities? ➡️How were cash deposits totalling ~₹25,000 crore across 14 banks monitored, reported, and overseen within the regulatory framework applicable to a listed financial institution? ➡️Why were the sister concern of independent Auditors and rating agencies paid in potential conflict of interest ? #Cholakepichekyahai #Lootwallahs #Cobrapost #CIFCL #Murugappa #CobrapostExpose #CobrapostInvestigation #Cholamandalam #CholaFinance

THREAD | COBRAPOST INVESTIGATION, LOOTWALLAHS : A FINANCIAL EMPIRE UNDER SCTRUTINY ! Cobrapost conducted a painstaking investigation based on statutory filings and public disclosures. What emerges is a disturbing pattern of large-value cash transactions, questionable related party arrangements, and serious disclosure and compliance gaps. At the centre is Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company Ltd. (CIFCL), one of India’s largest listed NBFCs and the flagship of the 125-year-old Murugappa Group. The Cobrapost investigation identifies transactions aggregating approximately ~₹10,262 crore involving CIFCL and Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co. Ltd., routed through Murugappa Group entities, family members, and key management personnel. Separately, filings show cash deposits totalling around ~₹25,000 crore made across more than a dozen banks over the past six years. Between FY2019–20 and FY2024–25 alone, CIFCL made cash deposits totalling around ~₹25,000 crore across 14 banks. These figures are approximations derived from accessed records. The scale, frequency, and routing of these cash transactions raise questions on monitoring, reporting, and regulatory oversight in a listed financial institution handling public, institutional, and borrowed capital. STAFFING OR STRIPPING ? How CIFCL Sent Rs.~4103 Crore To Chola Business Services (CBSL) Ltd And Why Disclosures Don’t Match the Money ! We identified transactions aggregating approximately ~Rs.4,103 crore between CIFCL and Chola Business Services Ltd.(CBSL), a privately held company owned and controlled by Murugappa Group promoters. ➡️ Records show CBSL received approximately ~₹4,103 crore from CIFCL over multiple years, including periods prior to FY2015, recorded as staffing and related services. ➡️Of work-contract payments aggregating ~ ₹1,654 crore recorded by CIFCL with over a dozen Murugappa Group entities, approximately ~₹1,628 crore went to CBSL. ➡️Following receipt of funds, CBSL made onward payments to other entities and individuals, including Murugappa Management Services and promoter group members. ➡️CBSL also claimed deductions aggregating ~₹180 crore under Section 80JJAA of the Income Tax Act linked to staffing deployed at CIFCL. ➡️But CIFCL reported related party transactions of only ~₹2,045 crore in its filings. FEES OR FAVOURS ? How CIFCL Paid ~₹642 Crore to Group Companies & ~₹19 Crore To Promoter Family Members ! Filings show CIFCL recorded professional-fee payments of ~₹642 crore to five Murugappa Group companies. In addition, ~₹19 crore was paid to 12 senior Murugappa family members as salary and professional fees. ➡️Taken together, these payments amount to approximately ~₹662 crore, based on records reviewed. But Several of these transactions have not been disclosed as related party transactions. COVER STORY :cobrapost.com/blog/cobrapost… PRESS RELEASE : cobrapost.com/blog/press-rel… #Lootwallahas #Cholakepichekyahai #Lootwallahs2 #CobrapostInvestigation #CobrapostExpose #CIFCL #Cholamandalam #CholaFinance #Murugappa #Cobrapost

In accordance with established journalistic norms and best practices, Cobrapost sent detailed questionnaires to the concerned companies and individuals seeking their responses to the findings of our investigation. We received a reply from the Chola Secretariat which, which is reproduced verbatim as follows : 'We are in receipt of your email dated 22nd December 2025 (claiming to publish report/have press conference within 24 hours) sent to multiple email ids of the employees/companies in the Group seeking several information/clarifications on the individual employees/ business operations of the entities that are duly audited and submitted with the relevant regulatory bodies. We confirm that all transactions of the businesses are carried out as per the laws of land in due compliance with the applicable regulatory guidelines. The individuals/businesses will respond to appropriate authorities whenever required. Any further emails/publication/press meet on the above with an inherent criminal intention to blackmail or tarnish the image of our businesses/group/family members, will face the full force of the law at your own costs and consequences. Authorised signatory.' The above email had no signatures of the authorised signatory or his/her name. The response carries no answers to any of our multiple questions regarding the findings of our investigation. Cobrapost denies that any criminal intention to blackmail or tarnish the image of the Murugappa Group or their family members. Cobrapost also denounces this blatant attempt to intimidate Journalists and media.

COBRAPOST INVESTIGATION | LOOTWALLAHS: QUESTIONS ABOUT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN INDIA – PART II Based on statutory filings and public disclosures, Cobrapost examines large-value cash transactions, related party arrangements, and disclosure gaps involving Cholamandalam Investment & Finance Company Ltd, the flagship NBFC of the Murugappa Group. Over nearly a decade, ₹10,000+ crore moved through related parties, alongside ~₹25,000 crore in cash deposits across multiple banks, raising serious questions on corporate governance and regulatory oversight. Read the full cover story below. COVER STORY :cobrapost.com/blog/cobrapost… PRESS RELEASE : cobrapost.com/blog/press-rel… YOUTUBE VIDEOS: youtu.be/x2aSnMf0ulg