Sebi fines DLF Rs 10 lakh for wrong disclosure on fund utilisation

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on real estate major DLF for filing wrong disclosures at stock exchanges regarding utilisation of funds.

The market regulator said it had conducted an investigation in the scrip of DLF for the period of June 11, 2007 to December 31, 2007 to ascertain any possible violation of the provisions of SEBI Act, Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 among other rules.

The probe revealed that the company "had filed wrong disclosures to BSE and NSE regarding variation in projected utilisation of funds vis-a-vis actual utilisation of funds and thereby violated the provisions" of Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act.

"Having considered all the facts and circumstances of the case, I... hereby impose a penalty Rs 10,00,000 on... DLF," said Sebi Adjudicating Officer B.J. Dilip in the order published on the regulator's wesbite.

In its filing to exchanges for the quarter ended September 2007, DLF said it had utilised an amount of Rs 3,143.56 crore towards prepayment of loans, up to September 30.

However, as per the filing for October-December quarter 2007, DLF had shown the utilisation of funds under the same head - prepayment of loans - as Rs 2,469.75 crore, which was decremental as compared to the previous quarter.

According to DLF, it had clubbed funds from its non-IPO sources -- Rs 673.81 crore -- with Rs 2,469.75 crore of IPO proceeds towards prepayment of loans for the quarter ended September 2007, which the adjudicating officer described "an inadvertent error".

According to Sebi norms, a company should make disclosures on a quarterly basis to stock exchanges showing the variation between projected utilisation of funds and the actual utilisation of funds.

--IANS

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