Cryptocurrency And Regulation Of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 And Legal Framework Ahead

A dubious concern in the banking finance sector in India today is the debate over according legal status to crypto/virtual currencies ("CCs"). The Reserve Bank of India ("RBI"), vide a notification[1] ("Notification"), directed all entities regulated by RBI not to deal in CCs or provide any services for facilitating any person in dealing or settling with CCs. As the blockchain enthusiasts, the crypto-exchanges and individuals holding CCs, across the globe watched in approbation, in March...

SEBI Penalizes Future Corporate For Insider Trading; Bars Founder Kishore Biyani From Securities Market For One Year

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has penalized Future Corporate Resources Pvt Ltd, Kishore Biyani and Anil Biyani, founder and co-founder of Future group respectively, and five others for insider trading.Future Corporate Resources Pvt Ltd(FCRL), Kishore Biyani, Anil Biyani and five others have been prohibited from dealing in securities market for a period of one year.Further, FCRL, Kishore Biyani and Anil Biyani have also been barred from dealing with the securities of Future...

Supreme Court Directs Distribution Of 9122 Crores To Unit Holders Under Franklin Templeton's Six Mutual Fund Schemes

The Supreme Court has on Tuesday directed that amount of 9122 crores that is cash ready with Franklin Templeton as on 15th January 2021 be distributed amongst the unit holders under the six mutual fund schemes. The Court has stated that the distribution is to be done in proportion to their respective interest in assets of scheme and will be undertaken by SBI Mutual funds as agreed by both Franklin Templeton Trust and SEBI. A division Bench of Justice Abdul Nazeer and Justice Sanjeev...

Prannoy Roy & Radhika Roy Offer NDTV Shares As Security For SEBI Penalty; Supreme Court Seeks Statement Of Share Value

The Supreme Court on Thursday considered the appeals filed by NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy against an order of the Securities Appellate Tribunal which directed them to pay 50% of the "wrongful gains" found to have been made by them via insider trading." The Petitioners are husband and wife. They are the promoters of a popular news channel. The show-cause notice was issued to them after 10 years of the transaction. When the transaction is of 2007, the notice came to be issued in...

SEBI Bans CNBC Awaaz Host Hemant Ghai, His Mother & Wife From Securities Market For Fraudulent Practices

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has issued a circular banning host of the show Stock 20-20 on CNBC Awaaz, Hemant Ghai, his wife, Jaya Hemant Ghai and mother Shyam Mohini Ghai from buying, selling or dealing in securities, either directly or indirectly until further orders.Ghai faces allegations of engaging in multiple buy-today-sell-tomorrow trades. SEBI has noted in its order that, on analysis of the trading pattern of the anchor's wife and mother for the period between Jan 1, 2019...

SEBI Imposes Rs 40 Crore Fine On Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani For Manipulative Trades In RPL

The Securities Exchange Board of India on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 25 crore on Reliance Industries and Rs 15 crore on its chairman, Mukesh Ambani, for manipulating shares of Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) in November 2007.The issue relates to manipulation during the sale and purchase of Reliance Petroluem Limited shares in the cash and the futures segments in November 2007. This followed RIL's decision in March 2007 to sell 4.1 per cent stake in RPL, a listed subsidiary that was later merged...

Franklin Templeton: SEBI Appoints Observer On The Basis Of Supreme Court's December 9 Order

Securities & Exchange Board of India has appointed an Observer regarding e-voting of unit holders of six schemes of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund.This comes in light of an order passed by top court of December 9, 2020 whereby the top court had also directed that the result of the e-voting would not be announced and would be produced before the Hon'ble Supreme Court in a sealed cover along with the report of the Observer appointed by the SEBI.The SEBI had been requested to appoint an...

Rs 27 Cr Penalty Imposed On NDTV Promoters Prannoy Roy & Radhika Roy For Concealment Of Information From Shareholders; Roys To Appeal

A year after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) first barred NDTV promoters Radhika and Prannoy Roy from accessing securities markets, the regulatory body has imposed Rs. 27 crore as penalty on the the Roys and RRPR Holdings Pvt Ltd for concealing price sensitive information from NDTV shareholders.While Rs. 25 crores have been imposed jointly and severally on the three promoters of the firm, Rs. 1 crore each has to be paid separately by the Roys.Prannoy Roy and Radhika Roy said...

Delhi High Court Seeks Reply From RBI, SEBI, NPCI On Plea Seeking Regulation Of GooglePay, AmazonPay, PhonePe Etc

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought reply from the Ministry of Law, Finance Ministry, RBI, SEBI, and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on a public interest litigation seeking regulation of the entry and operations of "tec-fin" companies like GooglePay, AmazonPay, PhonePe and others. The petition, which has been filed by an applied economist, Reshmi P Bhaskaran, seeks the High Court to direct inter alia that these "TechFin" companies be allowed to operate in the country...

Franklin Templeton : Supreme Court Asks SEBI To Appoint Observer For E-Voting; Stay On Redemption Continues

The Supreme Court on Wednesday continued its interim order of December 3 staying the redemption requests from investors in the Franklin Templeton matter till the next date of hearing in the third week of January. A bench of Justices Abdul Nazeer and Sanjiv Khanna was hearing the plea by Franklin Templeton Trustee Services Pvt Ltd challenging a Karnataka HC order which restrained winding up of six of its debt schemes without obtaining the consent of its investors by a simple majority. On December...

"You Have Our Sympathy, But We Can't Take It On Ourselves To Collect & Distribute Money": SC On Victims Of Ponzi Scheme

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked for suggestions as to the relief which it may grant to the victims in the 2018 ponzi scheme run by Future Maker Life Care Pvt Ltd, which involved a fraud of thousand of crores of rupees.The writ petition by the aggrieved was being heard by a bench of Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta and Ajay Rastogi."You have our sympathy, but the Supreme Court is not the right place. There are 100s of people who have cheated thousands and lakhs of people. We can't take...

[Franklin Templeton Case] SEBI Was A Silent Spectator; Prompt Action Was Needed : Karnataka High Court

In its judgment restraining Franklin Templeton from proceeding on notices issued for winding up of six debt schemes without obtaining the consent from unit investors, the Karnataka High Court has pulled up the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for failing to act promptly to sustain the confidence of the investors. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ashok S Kinagi observed :"All that can be said is that SEBI should have been prompt and...