On Monday (June 15, 2020), market regulator SEBI penalized an individual after he was found guilty of releasing unpublished price sensitive information related to financial results of Asian Paints through WhatsApp messages before the official announcement by the company.
A penalty of ₹ 15 lakh has been imposed on the said individual - Neeraj Kumar Agarwal. A few news reports referred to the circulation of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) in various private WhatsApp groups about some companies before their official announcements to the respective stock exchanges.
Regarding this, SEBI had initiated a preliminary examination during which search and seizure operation against 26 entities of a WhatsApp group were conducted, and around 190 devices and records, among others, were seized. The chats extracted from seized devices were examined further and it was found that earning data and other financial details of about 12 companies were leaked through WhatsApp. Asian Paints was one of the firms whose quarterly financial reports closely matched with the messages in the WhatsApp chats. An investigation was carried out regarding the matter of circulation of UPSI through WhatsApp messages related to Asian Paints to ascertain any possible violation of the PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations in March-May 2017. In the probe conducted by SEBI, it was found that Agarwal communicated the UPSI related to total income, EBITDA, and profit after tax of Asian Paints for the quarter ending March 2017 through WhatsApp messages. The financial figures of Asian Paints that were circulated through WhatsApp closely matched with those subsequently revealed to the exchanges by the company. SEBI in its 36-page order said, “The noticee (Agarwal), being an insider, had communicated the UPSI relating to Asian Paints Ltd, to another person through WhatsApp messages, which is in violation of the provisions of SEBI (PIT) Regulations, 2015, for which the noticee is liable for monetary penalty.” Any person having possession of UPSI is regarded as an insider, according to the PIT norms. Shruti Vora, who had been working in the institutional team at Antique Stock Broking Ltd from September 2008, was also penalized by SEBI for releasing UPSI related to financial results of Asian Paints through WhatsApp messages. Earlier, persons involved in communicating financial results of Bajaj Auto, Ambuja Cement, Wipro, and Mindtree through WhatsApp messages before their official announcements had also been penalized by the regulator.
SEBI Imposes Fine of Rs. 45 Lakh on Three Individuals for IPO Fund Diversion
Executive
Nov 23, 2020
Parul Singhal
(
Editor: Ekta Joshi
)
4 Shares
SEBI on Friday (20th November 2020) slapped Rs.45 lakh rupees in fine on three individuals for diverting proceeds from the Initial public offer of paramount print packaging Ltd (PPL) and making wrong disclosures. Individual fine of Rs 15 lakh each has also been imposed on Divyesh Ashwin Dharmesh Ashwin and Anuj Vipin as per the said order. According to the order, PPL as a company had mis-utilised Rs 35 crores and diverted Rs 34 crores to nine vendors. The three individuals provided wrong...
Sahara’s Subrata Roy Must Pay Rs. 62,600 Crores or Spend His Time in Jail: SEBI to Supreme Court
Business
Nov 21, 2020
Atharwa Gauraha
(
Editor: Ekta Joshi
)
10 Shares
On Friday (November 20, 2020), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sought the Supreme Court's instructions to revoke the parole and take custody of Sahara Chief Subrata Roy for his alleged failure to return money to his investors. The SEBI demanded Rs. 62,602 crores from Sahara, which it had received previously.Meanwhile, the Sahara group has claimed that SEBI was “acting biased” and is raising a “wrong demand” by asking for Rs 62,602 crores or $8.48 billion.“It is...
972 Views
Facebook Comments