New Delhi. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned a former anchor of a business news channel and eight other individuals and entities for indulging in fraudulent trading practices on his show.

A fine of Rs 1 crore has been imposed on the former TV anchor in the case of trading fraud. At the same time, a fine of Rs 1 crore has also been imposed on technical analyst Alpesh Vasanji Furia.  

Apart from this, SEBI has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on 6 institutions named Alpesh Furia (HUF), Alpa Furia, Manish Furia, Manish Furia (HUF), Mahan Investment and Toshi Trade.

Why did SEBI take this step?

According to news agency ANI, these TV anchors are accused of fraud in trading. SEBI has directed all the accused to pay the fine within the next 45 days.

SEBI has ordered all these anchors to return the illegal profit of Rs 10.83 crore earned through fraud. These anchors have already deposited Rs 8.39 crore against SEBI's interim order of October 2021. Now they will pay only Rs 2.44 crore with 12 percent interest.

As per the SEBI order, the anchor relationship has been found between Buy-Today-Sell-Tomorrow trades ("BTST") and intra-day trading fraud took place during the period from November 1, 2019 to January 13, 2021.

Furia, taking advantage of this privileged information, executed trades through his own and related entities' accounts, thereby placing himself at an advantage even before the recommendations were publicly disseminated, Sebi said.

When SEBI investigated this matter, many things were revealed in the WhatsApp chat. Conversations related to stock recommendations and trading strategies were revealed in the WhatsApp chat. In these chats, two people were sharing information regarding upcoming recommendations. In such a situation, this WhatsApp chat became an important evidence.

SEBI highlighted that financial journalists, including anchors of business channels, act as reliable disseminators of market information to the public and play a vital role in the stock market. Investors trust the advice given by them.