Sebi to open consent doors for serious violations, cut burden of cases

The regulator is working on simple formulae to arrive at settlement fees, say sources

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is broadening the scope of the consent mechanism to reduce the number of cases it is handling.

According to sources, the regulator is planning to allow serious offences such as insider trading, front running, or fraudulent and unfair practices to be settled under the mechanism. 

Sources privy to the development said Sebi would take a fresh look at the pricing formulae to decide the settlement amount under consent. 

Currently, the formulae prescribed by Sebi have too many variables, making the process ambiguous.

The regulator is working on simple formulae to arrive at settlement fees, sources say,