Sebi levies penalty of Rs 40 lakh on 8 entities for non-genuine trades

Capital markets regulator Sebi on Tuesday levied fines totalling Rs 40 lakh on eight entities for indulging in non-genuine trades in the illiquid stock options segment on BSE.

The regulator slapped a fine of Rs 5 lakh each on Sunbright Commodities Trade, Sunita Gupta, Ecospace Distributors, Fendra Infrastructure, Fastglow Distributors, Fort Gloster Industries, Flute Developers and Franklin Leasing and Finance Ltd.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had observed large-scale reversal trades in the illiquid stock options segment on BSE, leading to artificial volumes on the exchange.

The regulator conducted an investigation into the trading activities of certain entities engaged in the segment from April 2014 to September 2015.

According to Sebi, these eight entities that have been fined on Tuesday were among those who indulged in the execution of reversal trades.

The reversal trades are alleged to be non-genuine in nature as they are executed in the normal course of trading, which leads to a false or misleading appearance of trading in terms of generating artificial volumes, the market watchdog said.

The entities had flouted the provisions of PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices).