Anil Ambani firm surrenders WDM membership

The National Stock Exchange today said Reliance Share and Stock Brokers has surrendered its membership from the wholesale debt market (WDM) segment on the bourse.

The company had applied for surrendering its WDM membership and its has been approved by the exchange, a NSE circular said.

Reliance Share and Stock Brokers had last traded on the WDM segment on October 8, 1999.

In late 2006, Reliance Share and Stock Brokers, an Anil Ambani group firm, had been put under a four-month suspension for violating fair business practices by market regulator SEBI. But the Securities Appellate Tribunal had let off the company after paying a fine of Rs 50 lakh.

The company had appealed against the market regulator's order dated December 11, 2006, but SAT agreed for disposal of the case on the plea that the applicant offered to pay the fine on the basis of a formula approved by SEBI and a High Powered Advisory Committee.

In its final order dated December 7, 2007, SAT disposed off an appeal filed by RSSB on terms agreed with the regulator and said the previous SEBI order stands withdrawn.

According to the SEBI order of 2006, RSSB flouted fair business practices on as many as 13 counts with violations like artificial trade pricing, omission in mentioning relevant entries in contract notes, conversion of trades to client traders, and unfair trade practices in violation of laws among others.

Reacting to the order, an RSSB official had said then the action was related to alleged procedural defects in the period 1999-2000, when RSSB was part of the combined Reliance group.