Inflexible visa gets i-Flex CEO gaol

Chennai: On 26 March 2003, i-Flex Solutions BV, the 100-per cent subsidiary of Indian company i-Flex Solutions, a banking software product company, received some surprise visitors. So did the company's four Dutch banking clients.

The visitors were from the Department of Social Security, Netherlands, to investigate the violation of immigration laws by the Indian software company's 12 employees. The authorities asked the Indian company's employees to leave the Netherlands pronto.

In addition the Dutch government had also sent an application to the UK to extradite Senthil Kumar, CEO, i-Flex Solutions BV. "Kumar is based in London with a proper work permit for the past five months," says Peter Yorke, senior manager, corporate communication, i-Flex Solutions. "Consequently, the London police arrested Kumar without any charge sheet and later released him on bail."

Prefacing the discussion with a rider that he cannot talk much as the matter is sub judice, Yorke says: "At that time, i-Flex Solutions had 12 employees flown into the Netherlands on valid business visas."

According to him i-Flex is a banking product company deriving nearly 60 per cent of its revenues from product sales. "Our employees go to different countries to install the product and as per our understanding one doesn't need a work permit to sort out some technical issues while installing the core banking solution at a client's place," say Yorke.

In the Netherlands, the company has sold its core banking solutions to four banks — SNS Bank, AK Bank, HBG and FMO. "The product was sold to them over the last one and half years," he adds. Presently four native employees man i-Flex solutions' Dutch subsidiary.