Defunct exchange chief barred from other bourses

Sebi bans ISE's PJ Mathew from heading another exchange for a year

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has barred P J Mathew, former managing director of the now defunct Inter-connected Stock Exchange of India, from heading any bourse for a year. In an order on Thursday, the regulator said Mathew had not done enough to ensure compliance with shareholding requirements. It also disapproved of the fact that he had voted on behalf of some shareholders to pass resolutions.

The regulator noted not enough had been done to check the activities of shareholders said to be acting in concert.

Sebi said Mathew had acted as a proxy for some shareholders during a meeting to pass amendments mandated by the regulator. It added if the resolutions couldn’t be passed due to shareholders’ failure to vote, the shareholders would have been responsible for the consequences, including de-recognition.

“The management could and should have made the AGM (annual general meeting) aware of the consequences of not passing the amendments. Therefore, the managing director was not at all justified in acting as a proxy and, therefore, aligning himself with a section of shareholders,” it said.

“I hereby restrain the noticee, P J Mathew (former managing director of the erstwhile Inter-connected Stock Exchange of India) from accepting any position as managing director or chief executive officer in any Sebi-recognised stock exchange for a year,” said the Sebi order, passed by whole-time member Prashant Saran.