Sebi rejects erstwhile promoter's plea to sell 8KMiles scrips

Capital markets regulator Sebi today rejected the plea of Dipin Surana, an erstwhile promoter of 8KMiles Software Services, to access his demat account for the purpose of selling 40,000 shares of the firm.
Surana has been barred from dealing in the securities markets, either directly or indirectly, for alleged fraudulent dealings in shares of P M Telelinnks and 8KMiles.
The latest Sebi order comes after SAT in January had directed the capital markets regulator to pass a fresh order within two weeks in the matter.
Surana was seeking permission to sell 40,000 equity shares of the company and deposit the sale proceeds in an escrow account.

"It is worth mentioning that Surana had, as a part of fraudulent, manipulative plan/device/artifice as prima facie found in this case, funded a group of entities who had traded and manipulated the price of the scrip 8KMiles," Sebi said in an order passed today.
"In these facts, allowing Surana to sell the shares of the scrip in which alleged manipulation has taken place, before the investigation is complete, may pose threat to market equilibrium and may consequently affect the rest of the shareholders adversely," it added.
The regulator said that "since the disposal of shares of the scrip under investigation itself is not allowable for these reasons, the question of keeping sale proceeds in escrow account does not arise."

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi, through an interim order in April 2013, had barred Surana from dealing in the securities markets, either directly or indirectly, till further orders for lleged fraudulent dealings in shares of P M Telelinnks and 8KMiles. These interim directions were confirmed by the regulator in December 2013.