Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI) banned Infosys executives senior corporate counsel Pranshu Bhutra and Venkata Subramaniam V. V Senior Principal, Corporate Accounting Group and 6 other people from accessing capital markets.
The Charges
These people have been found guilty of insider trading in an incident where they leaked unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI).
Their actions resulted in gains of Rs 3.06 crore acquired illegally by those involved.
SEBI’s order stated that it had ample evidence to prove that the guilty entities violated the SEBI Act and Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) Regulations.
Consequences Of Their Actions
They not only undermined the integrity of the market but also manipulated it to acquire wrongful gains and benefits over general investors.
Their activities also resulted in notional monetary loss to the investors along with potentially irreparably injuring the securities market.
Accordingly, SEBI had taken immediate action against the entities as per the tenets of the balance of convenience in an attempt to control the damage dealt to the investors and the securities market.
The Investigation
SEBI uncovered 7 conversations between Pranshu Bhutra and Amit Bhutra.
It also found evidence of fund transactions between Pranshu Bhutra and Mahrishi Alloys Private Limited which further transacted with Shyama Devi Bhutra (Mother of Amit) and Ram Bilas Bhutra (Father of Pranshu).
Venkata Subramaniam was found to be in frequent contact with Pranshu during the UPSI period.
Subramaniam, who was privy to the leaked information, thereby shared his knowledge with Pranshu, a revelation founded on the basis of preponderance of probability.
The two accused have been granted 21 days to appeal against the order.
Infosys has stated that it will cooperate with SEBI and conduct an internal investigation based on which it will take appropriate action.
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