SAT rejects NSE plea for bank guarantee to Sebi in co-location case

The tribunal, however, granted an additional week to the exchange to comply with the May 22 order which directed NSE to transfer Rs 687 cr to Sebi within two weeks from the escrow account

Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) Thursday rejected NSE's plea for allowing it to provide bank guarantee instead of transferring Rs 687 crore from escrow account to Sebi in co-location case.

The tribunal, however, granted an additional week to the exchange to comply with the May 22 order which directed NSE to transfer Rs 687 crore to Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) within two weeks from the escrow account.

"In our view, we do not find any reason to modify our order dated May 22, 2019. The appellant (NSE) should transfer the amount which is already kept in the escrow account as per the interim order of Sebi to be transferred to Sebi account as per our order dated May 22, 2019," SAT said while rejecting NSE's plea.

Earlier, the regulator had asked NSE to deposit revenue from its co-location facility in an escrow amount as an interim measure.

Last month, NSE moved the tribunal challenging Sebi's rulings against it in the co-location case.
 

In April, Sebi directed the exchange to disgorge profits of over Rs 1,000 crore and imposed a six-month ban on launching new derivative products besides action against other entities, including some current and former officials.

The amount includes disgorgement of Rs 687 crore profit derived from dissemination of data in the co-location case. The tribunal also ordered the exchange to initiate an enquiry against its staff to find out if they had given any treatment preferential in terms of access to market data to certain brokers.

In the co-location case, the regulator had barred the exchange from accessing the securities market for six months.