The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed fines totaling Rs 55 lakh on 11 entities found engaging in non-genuine trades within the illiquid stock options segment on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
In a series of separate rulings, SEBI fined Kamala Agarwal, Kamla Devi Bajoria, Kamla Jain, Kamaljeet Kour, Kamal Ramprasad Gupta, Kamal Kumar, Kamlesh Ahuja, Kailash Narottamdas Anam, Sanjay Kumar Daga HUF Pragma Suppliers Pvt Ltd, and Aromatic Tie Up Pvt Ltd Rs 5 lakh each.
These penalties were imposed following SEBI’s detection of large-scale reversal trades in the illiquid stock options segment on the BSE, which artificially inflated trading volumes on the exchange.
SEBI conducted an investigation into the trading activities of certain entities within this segment spanning from April 2014 to September 2015.
The entities now facing fines were among those involved in these reversal trades, as noted in SEBI’s 11 separate rulings issued on Thursday.
Reversal trades are considered non-genuine because they occur in the regular course of trading, creating a false or misleading appearance by generating artificial trading volumes, according to SEBI.
By engaging in such practices, these entities were found to be in violation of the PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) norms.
In a separate ruling on Wednesday, SEBI imposed fines totaling Rs 20 lakh on two entities for violating disclosure rules related to IFL Promoters Ltd.
Additionally, SEBI suspended the registration of 3M Team Research Pvt Ltd for a period of one year due to regulatory norm violations.
These actions by SEBI underscore the regulator’s commitment to maintaining the integrity and transparency of India’s financial markets.
