Insider trading in Infosys leads to ban on two, Rs 2.6 crore of illegal gains impounded

The former employee of Infosys has been asked to pay Rs 30 lakh in fine.

The market regulator has asked a person to disgorge more than Rs 2.6 crore of illegal gains made by insider-trading in the Infosys scrip.

In an order issued on January 31, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has also fined Keyur Maniar Rs 30 lakh and banned him from the securities market for a year. The regulator had already passed an interim order in September 27, 2024, and had impounded the said gains to be deposited in the escrow account. In this final order, the regulator has asked Maniar to disgorge this amount along with a 12 percent interest per annum calculated from July 12, 2020, till the date of deposit to the escrow account.

Maniar was an associate of a former Infosys employee Ramit Chaudhri, who has been accused of passing on the insider information regarding a deal the company had signed. Chaudri, who has not been found liable for insider trading, has been fined Rs 30 lakh and been banned from the market for a year for passing on unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI).

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The UPSI involved a deal the company had signed with Vanguard.

On July 14, 2020, after market hours, Infosys had issued a press release announcing strategic partnership between Infosys and Vanguard which would advance digital transformation of Vanguard’s defined contribution recordkeeping business. On June 27, Infosys CEO Salil Parekh had settled charges related to insider trading by paying Rs 25 lakh. The allegation was around failing to have adequate controls to prevent insider trading and it was related to the partnership between Infosys and Vanguard.

In the latest January 31 order, SEBI's Whole-time Member Ananth Narayan wrote, "I note that while Noticee No. 2 (Ramit Chaudhri) is not liable for insider trading, he committed the egregious violation of conveying the unpublished price sensitive information pertaining to his company’s announcement of the Vanguard deal which resulted in the violation of the provisions of PIT Regulations, 2015 and the penalty to be imposed on him should be commensurate with his violations."