SEBI bars 27 entities for fraudulent trading

Capital markets regulator SEBI on Tuesday barred 27 entities from the securities market for fraudulent trading in shares of Gemstone Investments Ltd. and Spectacle Infotek.

"SEBI initiated investigation into the trading in certain scrips, including Gemstone Investments Ltd. (GIL), pursuant to the detection of a huge rise in the traded volumes and/or price of the shares of these companies during the years 2008, 2009 and 2010," the Securities and Exchange Board of India said in a statement.

To protect the interests of investors and preserve the safety and integrity of the market, SEBI barred 10 entities for manipulation in Spectacle Infotek shares and 17 entities for fraud in GIL shares.

"The present proceedings were related/connected to each other and connived amongst themselves for execution of synchronized and self trades, creation of artificial volume and price manipulation which not only distorted market equilibrium but were also found to be fraudulent in nature," SEBI said.

Of the barred entities, nine are common in both GIL and Spectacle Infotek cases.

Interestingly, some of the 27 entities are already in SEBI's banned list for violating capital market norms in LGS Global and Well Pack Papers and Containers and Goldstone Technologies.