SEBI Acts Against Zee Business Guest Experts for Market Manipulation

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has ordered 15 analysts of the TV channel ‘Zee Business’ to return Rs. 7.41 crores in profit. These analysts are accused of making illegal profits based on advance information. The analysts shared their views on the channel between February 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022.

Among them, Nirmal Kumar Soni, Parth Sarthi Dhar, SAAR Commodities Private Limited, Manan Sharekhan Private Limited, Kanhya Trading Company, Nitin Chhalani, Rupesh Kumar Matolia, Ajaykumar Ramakant Sharma, SAAR Securities India Private Limited, Ramavtar Lalchand Chotiya, Kiran Jadhav, Ashish Kelkar, Mudit Goyal, Himanshu Gupta, and Simi Bhaumik are included.

SEBI has seized accounts of the analysts.

According to SEBI’s orders, some of them are banned from trading in the market until further notice. Some have debit restrictions on their bank accounts, and a reduction in their mutual fund holdings has also been enforced.

Additionally, they have been given a three-month time frame to close their open positions in the derivatives market. SEBI has categorized these analysts into three groups: Profit Makers, Market Enablers, and Guest Experts.

• Guest Experts: They appeared on TV and shared tips about shares or stocks. These tips were shared before with the producers, resulting in profits.
• Profit Makers: They traded based on the advance information provided by the analysts and earned profits. They shared the profits obtained from the market with these analysts. Deals were already finalized for this purpose.
• Market Enablers: They are market savvy individuals who create favorable conditions for themselves without providing any mood guidance to the market.
  

When was the investigation conducted?

SEBI’s investigation, which took place between February and December 2022, involved analyzing SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram chats along with other details. Some of the guest analysts admitted to sharing tips before the show and even accepted SEBI’s request to share profits.

What did SEBI say in its orders?

In his orders, Kamlesh Varshney, a member of SEBI’s board, stated that these analysts had earned nearly Rs. 7.41 crore by obtaining information directly or indirectly.

He mentioned that this is unauthorized and against SEBI’s regulations because they were aware of impending events beforehand, causing ordinary investors to suffer losses.

SEBI stated that analysts must realize that it’s their responsibility if ordinary investors buy shares based on the recommendations provided by them. Therefore, the prices and volumes of shares will increase accordingly.

During television broadcasts, there was a surge in business activities.

Kamlesh Varshney revealed that significant trading of their shares occurred just 15 minutes before their television shows. During the telecast, there were fluctuations in the shares as per their wishes, and trading volumes also increased during the broadcast.

He stated that analysts believe that based on the good performance communicated by them, ordinary investors will buy shares, resulting in an increase in share prices and volumes accordingly. This happened as predicted.

It was announced that Zee Business would preserve records and documents.

Market regulators analyzed the details of their bank accounts along with SMS, WhatsApp, and Telegram chats. SEBI has imposed a three-month freeze on their positions in the derivative markets. SEBI has not issued a final order to Zee Media until now, but it has instructed them to preserve all records and documents.