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The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has restrained several entities, including market experts, research analysts and guests appearing on the TV channel Zee Business, from the securities market.
In an interim order issued on Thursday, the markets regulator accused them of engaging in fraudulent activities that allegedly influenced innocent investors.
SEBI stated in its order that “certain entities indulged in fraudulent and unfair acts and unlawfully enriched themselves by taking advantage of being in a position to influence innocent investors.” The regulator also expressed concern about the risk of unlawful gains being siphoned off beyond its reach.
According to the order, the guest experts on the channel made unlawful gains amounting to ₹7.5 crore, which Sebi has directed be impounded. The regulator has also prohibited them from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities for an appropriate period. Those barred by the regulator include Simi Bhaumik, Mudit Goyal, Himanshu Gupta, Ashish Kelkar, Kiran Jadhav, Ramawatar Lalchand Chotia, SAAR Securities India Pvt. Ltd and Kanhya Trading Co., among others.
Sebi categorized them into three categories. Kiran Jadhav, Ashish Kelkar, Himanshu Gupta, Mudit Goyal, and Simi Bhaumik were involved in giving trading advice to viewers and have been bracketed as guest experts. Nirmal Kumar Soni, Partha Sarathi Dhar, SAAR Commodities, Manan Sharecom, and Kanhya Trading Company have been termed profit-makers, and the rest are enablers.
The experts called this interim order by the market regulator interesting, as it is the first of its kind.
Sebi’s investigations, conducted from February 2022 to December 2022, involved analyzing SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram chats, along with bank and other details. Some guest experts admitted to sharing recommendations before broadcast and acknowledged a profit-sharing model in statements provided to Sebi.
During the investigation, Sebi conducted a search and seizure operation on the premises of suspect entities (i.e., Nirmal Kumar Soni, Parth Sarathi Dhar, Manan Sharecom Private Limited, Kiran Jadhav, Ashish Kelkar, Mudit Goyal, and Simi Bhaumik) after obtaining a court order. During the said operation, certain electronic devices were seized, and statements were recorded under oath.
Sebi has also restricted debit from the bank accounts of the alleged wrongdoers and curtailed redemptions from their mutual fund holdings. However, it has allowed three months for these entities to close their open positions in the derivatives market.
The regulator has granted 21 days to the entities to file their reply on the action taken. Furthermore, Sebi has directed Zee Media to preserve and maintain all records, documents, and video recordings of their shows until the final order is passed.
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Published: 08 Feb 2024, 11:17 PM IST
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