Sharekhan pays nearly Rs 3 crore to settle two cases with Sebi

Sharekhan has settled two cases with market regulator Sebi by paying nearly Rs 3 crore towards settlement charges for violation of norms pertaining to trade practices and stock broking.

The regulator had initiated two adjudication proceedings against the entity for alleged violations of PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair trade Practices) norms as well as code of conduct of stock brokers and sub-brokers.

In one case, Sebi had sent a notice in February 2017, while it is yet to issue a notice in the second case.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) conducted a probe and found that certain entities were front-running the trades of Sterling group.

Sharekhan was allegedly "indulged in front-running activity through its proprietary trading account thereby making personal gains", a Sebi order said.

It was also alleged that Sharekhan facilitated certain entities to carry out the front-running activity disregarding the alerts received from the stock exchange.

The market watchdog also said that Sharekhan allowed improper use of information of confidential nature of clients by the dealers.

While both the proceedings were pending with Sebi, Sharekhan filed two settlement applications without denying or admitting the charges and proposed to pay Rs 2.93 crore towards settlement.

The settlement proposed was approved by a panel of Sebi's whole-time members and the amount was remitted on April 8, 2019.

Thereby, the proceedings initiated against Sharekhan are settled, the regulator said.