Big action by SEBI, ban imposed on 10 market experts giving stock tips

New Delhi (Uttam Hindu News): Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India SEBI has banned 10 firms, including guest experts appearing on a business TV channel, from the equity market. Along with this, SEBI has also directed to confiscate the illegal profit of Rs 7.41 crore made by them through alleged manipulation of shares. SEBI found in its investigation that some guest experts used to share advance information about their recommendations to some firms even before the telecast of their stock recommendations on news channels.

SEBI in its interim order said that on the basis of advance information regarding share recommendations from guest experts Kiran Jadhav, Ashish Kelkar, Himanshu Gupta, Mudit Goyal and Simi Bhowmik, Nirmal Kumar Soni, Parth Sarathi Dhar, SAAR Commodities Pvt Ltd, Manan Sharecom Pvt Ltd. And Kanhaiya Trading Company made profit by completing those deals.

SEBI said that these entities made illegal profits of Rs 7.41 crore from settlement of such share deals and this profit was also shared with the guest experts as per the consent. Thus, all these entities are jointly and severally liable to forfeit the deal settlement proceeds, the regulator said. SEBI has classified them into three categories. Jadhav, Kelkar, Gupta, Goyal and Bhowmik were involved in providing trading advice to the viewers and are classified as ‘Guest Experts’. Sony, Dhar, Saar Commodities, Manan Sharecom and Kanhya Trading have been termed as ‘profit makers’ and the rest as ‘enablers’.

The SEBI investigation, which ran between February and December 2022, included analysis of SMS, WhatsApp and Telegram chats along with bank and other details. Some guest experts admitted to sharing recommendations before the show and accepted the profit sharing model in statements given to SEBI.
SEBI had also conducted a search and seizure operation and seized electronic devices as part of its investigation. SEBI has banned debits from the bank accounts of institutions and reduced redemptions from their mutual fund holdings. Apart from this, they have been allowed three months to close their open positions in the derivatives market.