The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued a show cause notice to Religare Enterprises chairperson Rashmi Saluja as part of its probe into alleged insider trading violations, sources informed The Economic Times.
The investigation focuses on trades made by Saluja on September 21 and 22, 2023, just days before the Burman family's open offer for Religare Enterprises was publicly announced on September 25, 2023. According to the complaint filed by four investment firms linked to the Burman family in November 2023, Saluja sold 1.29 million shares worth Rs 34.71 crore on those dates after being informed about the upcoming offer by a Burman family representative on September 20.
The complaint alleges that Saluja's share sales occurred after a meeting with the representative. SEBI has issued the show cause notice under Section 11 of the SEBI Act, 1992, which empowers the regulator to take action against securities law violations, including insider trading. Neither SEBI nor Religare Enterprises responded to The Economic Times' request for comment by press time.
In May 2024, the Burman family accused Saluja of selling an additional 2.71 million shares worth Rs 43 crore between March 26 and 28, 2024, while allegedly possessing undisclosed price-sensitive information, also in breach of insider trading regulations.
Last week, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at multiple locations associated with senior executives at Religare Enterprises, including Saluja, and seized several documents, including employee stock options from the company's Care Health Insurance subsidiary. The searches were part of an ongoing investigation involving FIRs against former REL promoters, Burman Group acquirers, and others.
Religare Enterprises stated that no incriminating documents were found during the searches. However, the ED has frozen ESOP shares of Care Health Insurance Limited held by Rashmi Saluja, Nitin Aggarwal, and Nishant Singhal. The company added that the ESOP shares issued to Saluja are currently under review by the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
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