SEBI Slaps Rs 15 Lakh Fine On Asit C Mehta Investment

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Friday slapped a fine of Rs 15 lakh on Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediaries for violating regulatory norms.
     
Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediaries (noticee) is a Sebi registered stock broker.
     
The order came after Sebi along with BSE, NSE and Central Depository Services Ltd (CDSL) conducted a joint inspection of the books of accounts and other records of noticee and examined the compliance with various regulatory norms during the period from April 2019 to July 2020.
     
In its order, Sebi said that the the entity was involved in gross misconduct, wherein, it has been found to be indulged in - misusing of its clients’ funds, reported incorrect margin to NSE and BSE in F&O (Futures & Options) and Commodity Derivatives (CD) segment and further funding its clients beyond T+2+5 amounting to Rs 6.32 crore.
     
Also, the regulator observed that it found discrepancies in uploading the contact details of noticee's clients, gross discrepancy in calculation of net worth, incorrect reporting of net worth to exchanges.
     
In a separate order, the regulator imposed a fine of Rs 5 lakh on an individual for manipulating the share price of Radha Madhav Corp Ltd (RMCL).
     
The order came after Sebi conducted an investigation into the trading activities of certain entities in the scrip of RMCL during the period September 2016 to February 2017.
     
Pursuant to investigation, the regulator found that individual—Sonal Vijay Mehta—through her peculiar trading pattern, wherein she had executed buy orders on BSE of miniscule quantities and had substantially contributed to the positive Last Traded Price (LTP) in the scrip of RMCL.
     
Mehta manipulated the price of scrip and created a misleading appearance of trading in the scrip of RMCL during the investigation period, according to the Sebi order.