Sebi orders Singhania Media to return clients' money

Markets regulator Sebi has asked Singhania Media Solution to return the money received from clients as fees in respect of its unregistered investment advisory activities.
Besides, Sebi has barred Singhania Media and its director Shashikant Singhania from the capital markets for five years while a 10-year ban has been handed to another director, Ankitkumar Shashikant Singhania.
The regulator found that Singhania Media was giving trading tips and stock-specific recommendations among others to investors and the general public on payment of fees.
It was carrying out such investment advisory activities without obtaining registration from Sebi. By acting as advisors, it has violated the provisions of Sebi Investment Advisers norms.

Singhania Media admitted that it had provided its services to 73 clients and collected over Rs 8.77 lakh as fees from them, the regulator said.
In December 2015, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had restrained Ankit and its proprietary firm GoCapital from acting as investment advisor after finding them guilty of providing unauthorised trading tips to investors.

Despite Sebi's order, they continued with their unregistered activity through a new company -- Singhania Media -- and totally ignored the directions issued against them.
Later in October 2016, Sebi passed a fresh order prohibiting Singhania Media and its two directors from acting as investment advisors.

"Ankitkumar Shashikant Singhania has admittedly acted as an investment advisor through Singhania Media Solutions, from March 2016, resulting in a clear act of non-compliance," Sebi Whole Time Member Madhabi Puri Buch said in an order dated July 18.
Accordingly, Sebi has asked Singhania Media to "refund the money received from its clients as fees in respect of its unregistered investment advisory activities and submit a certificate from a peer reviewed chartered accountant who is on the panel of any public authority or public institution, within a period of 3 months".
The company and its directors have been barred from undertaking investment advisory services or any activity in the securities market without obtaining a registration from Sebi.