Sebi issues notices to DHFL's ex-promoters in disclosure violation case

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday sent demand notices to Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan, the former promoters of Dewan Housing Finance Corp Ltd (DHFL), asking them to pay Rs 10.6 lakh each in a case concerning flouting of disclosure norms.

Also, the regulator has warned them of arrest and attachment of assets as well as bank accounts if they fail to make the payment within 15 days, according to two separate notices.

The demand notices came after the Wadhawans failed to pay the fine imposed on them by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in July 2023.

The regulator imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh each on Wadhawans, who were promoters of DHFL (now known as Piramal Finance), for flouting disclosure norms.

Kapil Wadhawan was the Chairman and MD of DHFL, while Dheeraj Wadhawan is the brother of Kapil and was a non-executive director in the company. Both of them were on the board of DHFL.

The order came after Sebi conducted an investigation into the transfer of shares held by DHFL in DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance (erstwhile DLF Pramerica Life Insurance) to its wholly-owned subsidiary DHFL Investments and other related transactions. The investigation period was from February-March 2017.

Sebi observed that the brothers were responsible for providing inadequate information in the postal ballot notice by the firm.

In two separate notices on Thursday, Sebi directed Dheeraj Wadhawan and Kapil Wadhawan to pay Rs 10.6 lakh each within 15 days. This includes interest and recovery costs.

In the event of non-payment of dues, the market regulator will recover the amount by attaching and selling moveable and immovable property of these officials. Besides, they face attachment of their bank accounts and arrest.