The regulator also seized illicit benefits worth Rs 638 crore earned by some of the companies through fraudulent schemes.
The case primarily deals with fraudulent and manipulative trading in shares of V Marc India listed on the SME segment of the NSE and prima facie, the transactions were orchestrated by the promoters and management of the company and related parties.
SEBI, in its order, prima facie found that V Marc promoter and MD Vikas Garg and the company’s former whole-time director Sandeep Kumar Srivastava had engaged Prijesh Kurani to “run the market”.
It further alleged that Khurani manipulated securities using his own trading accounts and those of related entities as well as accounts of persons connected to Garg.
Additionally, Garg and the company’s management misappropriated funds into Kurani through related companies in order to carry out the fraudulent scheme, which was carried out shortly after the company’s shares were listed on April 8, 2021.
Apart from Garg, Srivastava and Kurani, the others banned by SEBI were Sudhir Gupta, Dharini Kurani, Rekha Kurani, Surbhi Aggarwal, Vinod Vilas Sable, Seema Garg, Madhu Srivastava, Jai Kishorr Singhal and Seema Agarwal.
SEBI’s investigation, covering the period from April 9 to 30, 2021, was aided by data retrieved from Khurani’s mobile devices that were seized following a “search and seizure operation” conducted by the regulator at his residence in May 2022 as part of its investigation into the “Axis Mutual Fund front-running trading” issue.
Data from the devices, particularly messages exchanged on WhatsApp involving the entities mentioned in the order, and copies of signed contracts between certain entities, are key evidence in the case.
Garg subsequently challenged SEBI’s interim order in the Securities Appellate Tribunal, which in its May 8 ruling directed the regulator to pass fresh orders within four weeks.
Subsequently, by an order dated July 15, the appeal court granted additional time till July 30 to pass the order.
(With inputs from PTI)
