Sebi slaps Rs 1 lakh fine on 63 moons for not seeking name change approval

For the violation, the regulator has slapped a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on 63 Moons Technologies

Sebi on Tuesday penalised 63 moons Technologies, formerly known as Financial Technologies, as it failed to seek prior approval for the name change from stock exchanges.

The change in name was effected last year amid Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL) coming under the scanner for the NSEL fiasco.

FTIL is the parent of the now-defunct National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL), which suspended trading in July 2013 following a major payment crisis.

In a ten-page order, Sebi said 63 moons did not seek approval from stock exchanges -- NSE and BSE -- before changing its name from FTIL and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

63 moons Technologies had obtained a certificate of incorporation pursuant to change of name on May 27, 2016, from the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Chennai. Later, it applied to the stock exchanges to update the same in their records.

Under the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations, before obtaining a fresh name change a company has to seek prior approval from the exchanges concerned. This has to be done by way of submitting a certificate from a chartered accountant confirming compliance of conditions as per the regulations.

"... it is clear that the requirement of seeking prior approval from the stock exchanges(s) is a condition precedent before filing request of the name change to RoC, which in fact has not been met by the noticee (63 moons)," Sebi said.

For the violation, the regulator has slapped a penalty of Rs 1 lakh.

"I note that there are no quantifiable figures available for assessing disproportionate gains or unfair advantage or specific loss suffered by the investors.

"I also note that no past default against the noticee has been revealed under examination," Sebi's Adjudicating Officer Rachna Anand said in the order.