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From giants like Reliance Industries and DLF to little-known entities selling jatropha plants as money-multiplier investments, all faced the music in 2014 when an empowered Sebi took them to task for manipulating markets, defrauding investors or hiding market-sensitive information.
Sebi passed at least 763 orders against various entities, issued more than 1,700 attachment orders, and also detained three persons while sending one to prison this year.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) also ordered refund of investors' money amounting to an estimated Rs 1 lakh crore, which it found had been raised from the public through illicit schemes -- many of them being ponzi structures -- launched across the country by nearly 100 firms.
The markets watchdog, which was given greater powers by the government this year to take on manipulators and defaulters, in the process sent across a loud and clear message that it was keeping a close watch on the markets and any attempt to manipulate or defraud investors would attract immediate action.
Giving a long rope to the entities found to have indulged in lesser-sensitive cases, the regulator also agreed to settlement offers of nearly 40 entities, but an equal number of consent pleas were rejected too as charges were serious in nature against those entities.
The regulator used its new power for recovery of unpaid dues -- penalty and disgorgement imposed by it, fees due to the regulator and money directed to be refunded to the investors. It got powers to attach and sell the properties including bank/demat accounts, arrest and imprisonment of defaulters.
Using these powers, Sebi issued more than 1700 attachment orders in more than 500 cases. In more than 100 cases, entire dues with interest were recovered by Sebi and the attachments made therein were lifted.
An amount of Rs 25 crores was collected by exercising the recovery power, while Sebi also detained three defaulters and sent one to civil imprisonment for six months.
In another major development, Sebi initiated action against individuals and companies misusing the stock markets for tax evasion and money laundering. It has already passed orders against 260 entities and more may follow in this case.
Among the major cases, Sebi imposed a penalty on corporate behemoth Reliance Industries, barred realty giant DLF and its top executives from the markets for three years, completed its probe into the Satyam scam while barring five perpetrators for 14 years and asked them to return nearly Rs 1,900 crore.
Other major entities that faced Sebi action included PACL, Gillette India, Rose Valley, six high profile merchant bankers (Kotak, Edelweiss, IDBI, DSP Merrill Lynch, ICICI Securities and SBI Caps), GlaxoSmithKline, Apollo Tyres and FTIL, while two major stock exchanges NSE and BSE were also censured by the regulator.
