Sebi slaps over Rs 30 crore penalty on 118 entities in Bank of Rajasthan case

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today imposed a total penalty of Rs 30.75 crore on 118 entities, including the promoters of erstwhile Bank of Rajasthan (BOR), for alleged manipulative practices in the stock market between 2007-2009.

Sebi has slapped a fine of Rs 5 crore each on Bank of Rajasthan's then promoter Pravin Kumar Tayal, his brothers, Sanjay Tayal and Navin Tayal, and his son, Saurabh Tayal, for violations of various norms.

The market regulator has also imposed a penalty of Rs 18 lakh each on 10 promoter group companies of the bank. Another promoter entity -- Ginger Clothing -- has been slapped with a Rs 15 lakh fine.

Further, Sebi has imposed fine of Rs 10 lakh each on 10 entities for alleged failure to make an open offer regarding shares of Bank of Rajasthan.

Imposing penalties on 118 entities, Sebi's adjudicating officer Barnali Mukherjee said in the order that charges of violating various provisions including those related to prohibition of fraudulent trading practices norms have been included.

Sebi has alleged that incorrect disclosures were made by all the promoters of BoR and their PACs (Persons Acting in Concert) for the period June 2007 to December 2009. These entities have been referred by regulator as the promoter group companies and its directors, the Tayal group companies and directors, the Silvassa Group entities and the Yadav Group entities.

"Investigation alleged that the promoter group of BoR alongwith some companies which were belonging to the Tayal Group transferred shares in the off-market to entities, who were identified by investigation as Yadav Group and Silvassa Group.

"Further, fund movements were observed between the entities. Certain entities belonging to the Tayal, Silvassa and Yadav Groups were also seen to have purchased shares of BoR on market. These entities had received funds from Tayal Group companies," the order said.

Further, third party payments were also made to brokers on behalf of the noticees belonging to the Tayal, Silvassa and Yadav Groups purchasing shares of Bank of Rajasthan on market, it added.

Bank of Rajasthan's then promoters, led by Pravin Kumar Tayal, along with some companies that were connected to him and his relatives, by way of their continuous disclosure, publicly announced that their stake had come down from 44.18 per cent at the end of three months period ended June 2007 to 28.6 per cent as on quarter ending December 2009.

However, in reality, the holding of the promoters increased with the active collusion of front entities.

Shareholding of promoters of Bank of Rajasthan with PACs had increased from 46.8 per cent in June 2007 to 63.15 per cent in December 2009. The bank was later acquired by ICICI Bank.