SEBI Orders Zee Business Guest Experts to Repay ₹7.41 Crore in Unlawful Gains

9 Feb 2024 , 12:35 PM

In a temporary directive, market regulator SEBI demanded that a number of guest experts on the Zee Business news channel pay back the ₹7.41 Crore ‘unlawful gain’ they had made by taking positions in the market that differed from what they had advised on air.

Fifteen experts who appeared on the channel between February 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022, have been the subject of action. While some of them helped facilitate these illegal trades, others were personally involved in them. According to SEBI’s ruling from February 8, some of them have also been prohibited from trading on the market till further directives.

Ajaykumar Ramakant Sharma, Rupesh Kumar Matoliya, Nitin Chhalani, Kanhya Trading Company, Manan Sharecom Private Limited, SAAR Commodities Private Limited, Partha Sarathi Dhar, Ajaykumar Ramakant Sharma, Ashish Kelkar, Kiran Jadhav, Ramawatar Lalchand Chotia, and Simi Bhaumik are among them. 

They were divided into three groups by SEBI. As a result of their involvement in providing viewers with trading advise, Kiran Jadhav, Ashish Kelkar, Himanshu Gupta, Mudit Goyal, and Simi Bhaumik have been classified as guest experts. Profit makers are Nirmal Kumar Soni, Partha Sarathi Dhar, Manan Sharecom, SAAR Commodities, and Kanhya Trading Company; the remaining individuals are considered facilitators.

‘I observe that the Noticees have taken on certain functions at different points in time that have, on the face of it, been determined to be illegal under the SEBI Act and the regulations enacted under it. Kamlesh Varshaney, Whole Time Member, SEBI, stated in his order that ‘analysis of evidences gathered in the course of investigation reveal that Guest Experts shared advance information pertaining to recommendations to be made by them with Profit Makers, before the broadcast of the recommendations on Zee Business.’

The market regulator stated that when the Profit Makers acquired the information, they took a position in the scrip or contract and either reversed or squared off their position after the suggestion was broadcast on Zee Business. Then, in accordance with existing agreements, the profit was distributed to the guest experts. 

‘It is noted that the Noticees, as indicated in the table below, are liable jointly and severally for the impoundment of the proceeds from the trades that do not comply with the securities regulations. According to Varshaney, the Noticees who made these unfair gains, permitted some Noticees to make unfair profits, or whose suggestions resulted in such unfair profits are the only ones subject to this joint and multiple culpability.

The circumstances of this case, according to SEBI, clearly show a plan of manipulation to harm investors’ interests by tricking them into taking positions in securities so that Profit Makers might profit at the expense of these investors. It stated that the illicit profits amassed by these Profit Makers originate, either directly or indirectly, from the wallets of gullible investors who blindly follow the guidance of Guest Experts.

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