The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), India's capital markets regulator, fined top executives of Jaiprakash Associates, an engineering and construction firm, for insider trading in the company's stock in 2008.
SEBI imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh each on Manoj Gaur, chairman of the Indian conglomerate, his wife Urvashi, and brother Sameer Gaur, as well as some top executives of the company.
SEBI alleges that they had passed on unpublished price sensitive information and that led to the two individuals buying shares from the open market.
CNBC-TV18 learns that two other officials of JP Associates, Haresh Vaid and SD Nailwal, were also implicated in the matter.
They also have been fined Rs 10 lakh each.
The penalty is to be deposited within 45 days of the order, SEBI said in an order dated January 5, but issued on its website on Friday.
Meanwhile, JP Associates officials have denied any such wrong doing. In fact, they went to the extent of saying that they would be challenging this SEBI order in SAT in the coming few weeks.
Gaur in his reply to CNBC says "My attention has been drawn to an Order dated January 5, 2012 of the Adjudicating Officer, as uploaded on the site of SEBI today, imposing a monetary penalty of Rs.10 lakh each on myself, my wife and my brother for the alleged violation of Insider Trading Regulations."
He further says, "The findings in the Order relate to the purchase 1,000 shares by my wife and 7,400 shares by my brother, between October 13 to 16, 2008 (which purchase was not done based on any insider information and the said shares were not even sold). The findings in the Order are completely erroneous and contrary to factual position. It is unfortunate and we
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!