Registration violations: SEC charges 4 Indian brokerages

Four Indian financial services firms agreed to pay nearly USD 2 million to settle US Securities and Exchange Commission charges it provided brokerage services to US institutional investors without being registered, the regulator said on Tuesday.

The SEC said Ambit Capital Private Ltd, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd, JM Financial Institutional Securities Private Ltd, and Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd engaged with US investors by sponsoring conferences, having employees travel to the United States to meet investors and in other ways.

The brokerages agreed to pay more than USD 1.8 million in total to settle the charges, the regulator said.

Motilal Oswal, one of the largest Indian brokerages, will pay about USD 820,000, Edelweiss will pay about USD 568,000, JM Financial will pay USD 443,000 and Ambit will pay about USD 31,000.

"These four firms and all other foreign broker-dealers must educate themselves on the US laws and regulations when they provide services to US investors." Scott W. Friestad, associate director of the SEC's division of enforcement, said in a statement.