Sebi bars Rising Agrotech, its 9 directors from markets

Sebi today barred Kolkata-based Rising Agrotech and its nine directors from capital markets for illegal money pooling activities.
According to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the company raised Rs 1.08 crore from 1,460 investors through issuance of equity shares.
According to market norms, since the shares were issued by the firm to more than 50 people, it qualified as a public issue that requires compulsory listing on recognised stock exchanges, which the firm failed to do.
Among others, it was also mandatory for the firm to bring out a prospectus with respect to the public issue.
"The company appears to have contravened the said provisions as it has neither made an application seeking listing permission nor refunded the amounts on account of such failure," Sebi said imposing the ban.

"The company has also allegedly not complied with the provisions of section 73(3) as it has not kept the amounts received from investors in a separate bank account and failed to repay the same in accordance with section 73(2) as observed above."

Among the directors barred from markets are Santosh Kumar Dwivedi, Dipan Kumar Sen, Binay Kumar Shaw, Siddhartha Kayal, Lina Kayal, Awadhesh Kumar Singh, Amaresh Pandey, Bikash Bhandary and Sushovan Roy.
Sebi also asked the entities to cooperate and "furnish all the documents that they have been or shall be required to furnish".
The regulator said the directions shall come into force with immediate effect and shall continue till further orders.

In August last year, Sebi had restrained the firm and its directors in a separate case of unauthorised public issue of Redeemable Preference Shares (RPS).