Wasankar Wealth fails to repay investors; Sebi confirms curbs

Sebi has restricted Wasankar Wealth from providing portfolio management services as well as fund pooling activities after the entity failed to comply with the capital market regulator's directions to repay investors.
In the confirmatory order, the regulator has also barred Wasankar Wealth Management and its directors from accessing the securities market, till further directions.
According to Sebi probe, Wasankar Wealth had solicited and collected funds from investors for making investments on their behalf even when it was neither registered as a sub-broker nor as any other intermediary.
Consequently, through an order on August 27, 2014, Sebi had asked Wasankar Wealth and its directors to refund money collected from public along with profits or returns promised to them under its schemes or an 10 per cent interest per annum, from the date of investment till the date of refund, whichever is higher, by September 3, this year.

In its latest order issued on Wednesday, Sebi noted that Wasankar Wealth and its directors "have not complied with the directions issued vide interim order dated August 27, 2014 and have not refunded the monies due to the investors".
Accordingly, Sebi has confirmed the directions issued vide ad-interim ex-parte order dated August 27, 2014, in respect of Wasankar Wealth and its directors -- Prashant Wasankar, Vinay Wasankar, Mithila Wasankar, Abhijeet J Chaudhari and Bhagyashree Wasankar.

Under Sebi orders, Wasankar Wealth and its directors would have "to cease and desist from undertaking the portfolio management activities or any unregistered activity in the securities market".

They are also "prohibited from mobilising or pooling funds from its clients, other general investors or public and from offering any portfolio management activities or any other unregistered activity".
Besides, the entity and its directors are barred from "transferring the funds/deposits mobilised from the clients or other investors or from disposing of or alienating any asset that has been created from the funds/deposits received from their clients or other investors for purposes other than refund".
The regulator noted that the entities "had not been able to show sufficient and plausible cause to draw any inference other than those drawn in the interim order with regard to their activities in the securities market".

"Further, the continuance of the noticees in the stock market will adversely affect the interest of the investors and will have long term impact on the integrity of the securities market," it added.