Sebi bans Gensol Engg, promoters from securities mkt in fund diversion case

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday barred Gensol Engineering and promoters -- Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi -- from the securities markets till further orders in a fund diversion and governance lapses case. 

The regulator has also debarred Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi from holding the position of a director or key managerial personnel in Gensol until further orders. 

Further, the markets watchdog directed Gensol Engineering Ltd (GEL) to put on hold the stock split announced by it. 

The order came after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) received a complaint in June 2024 relating to the manipulation of share price and diversion of funds from GEL and thereafter started examining the matter. 

In a 29-page interim order, Sebi said, "The prima facie findings have shown mis-utilisation and diversion of funds of the company (GEL) in a fraudulent manner by its promoter directors, Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi, who are also the direct beneficiaries of the diverted funds". 

"The company has attempted to mislead Sebi, the CRAs (credit rating agencies), the lenders and the investors by submitting forged conduct letters purportedly issued by its lenders," the regulator said. 

The noticees 1, 2 and 3 (GEL, Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi) are alleged to have violated the provisions of PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) rules, it added. 

Sebi noted that the promoters were running a listed public company as if it were a propriety firm. GEL's funds were routed to related parties and used for unconnected expenses as if the company's funds were promoters' piggy banks. 

The result of these transactions would mean that the diversions at some time need to be written off from Gensol's books, ultimately resulting in losses to the investors of the company. 

"...prima facie evidence of a blatant violation of rules of corporate governance is writ large over the workings of the company. The diversion of funds of the company (GEL) by promoter entities reflects a culture of weak internal control, where even ring-fenced borrowings from institutional creditors were rerouted at the total discretion of the promoters," Sebi's whole-time member Ashwani Bhatia said in the order. 

The internal controls at Gensol appear to be loose and through the quick layering of transactions, funds have seamlessly flowed to multiple related entities/individuals, Bhatia said. It also directed the firm to appoint a forensic auditor to examine the books of accounts of Gensol and its related parties.