The former cricketer faces arrest for allegedly failing to deposit ₹23.36 lakh in PF contributions for employees of his clothing company.
Published Dec 21, 2024 | 5:02 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 21, 2024 | 8:59 PM
Robin Uthappa (Screengrab)
An arrest warrant against former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa has been issued for allegedly failing to remit ₹23.36 lakh in provident fund (PF) contributions for employees at a clothing company where he serves as a director.
Uthappa, a former Team India player and IPL veteran, is accused by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) of withholding PF deductions without depositing them into employee accounts as the director of Centaurus Lifestyle Brands Private Limited.
The warrant, signed on 4 December by Regional Provident Fund Commissioner-II and Recovery Officer, Shadakshara Gopala Reddy, directs the Pulakeshinagar Police Station, to apprehend Uthappa by 27 December if the dues remain unpaid. The action is authorised under the provisions of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, aimed at ensuring compliance.
The warrant allows Uthappa to avoid arrest by paying the dues in full, along with an additional ₹5,000 for execution costs. Should he fail to do so, authorities are required to arrest and produce him before the EPFO for further proceedings.
In the directive, Commissioner Reddy stated: “Due to non-remittance of dues, this office is unable to settle the Provident Fund accounts of poor workers. You are kindly requested to execute the warrant of arrest through the Thana in-charge under whose jurisdiction Uthappa resides.”
Responding to the warrant issued against him, Uthappa said his legal team informed the PF authorities that he had no role in the companies mentioned and provided documents highlighting the firms themselves clarifying the cricketer was not involved with them.
“Despite this, the Provident Fund authorities have continued with the proceedings, and my legal advisors will take the necessary steps to resolve this matter in the coming days,” Uthappa said in a statement.
He said that he was appointed a director in these firms in 2018-19 due to his “financial contributions to them in the form of loans”. Uthappa said he had neither held an active role nor was involved in their daily activities.
The cricketer further said he initiated legal proceedings against the firms after they failed to repay the loan, and the case was still in court. “I also resigned from my directorships several years ago,” he said.
(Edited by Dese Gowda).
