Sebi imposes Rs 60 lakh fine on 9 entities for fraudulent trading practices

Market regulator Sebi has slapped a total penalty of Rs 60 lakh on nine entities for indulging in manipulative trading in the scrip of Exdon Trading Company Ltd.

Out of the nine entities, Henal C Patel, Dantara Amish Vijaykumar and Henal Hemantbhai Shah have been fined Rs 10 lakh each while others including Dhanlaxmi Lease Finance have been fined Rs 5 lakh each.

These nine entities are the noticees.

Sebi conducted an investigation into the trading of the scrip of Exdon between May 2013 and March 2015, and found that the entities were connected to each other.

"The noticees were instrumental in establishing a price higher than the last traded price and thus contributed to increased scrip price with each of their trades. Such trades would lead to an artificial rise in the price of the scrip and the same would misguide the general public," Sebi said in an order dated May 17.

Trades of the entities contributed to manipulation in the scrip price and created a misleading appearance of trading and thereby contravened provisions of PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) Regulations, it added.