Sebi Bars TV Anchor, Five Others For Fraudulent And Unfair Trade Practices

Marker regulator SEBI on Monday barred TV anchor Pradeep Pandya, market expert Alpesh Furiya and four others on charges of undertaking fraudulent and unfair trade practices while transacting in the securities market.

It also issued directions for impounding gains of Rs 8.4 crore made by the operators in their fraudulent deals.

"There is a repeated pattern of such fraudulent and unfair trading activity being carried out by these entities," Sebi whole-time member Madhabi Puri Buch said in an interim order.

"The directions are preventive in nature as Pandya has the potential, in view his association with the media channels, to possibly be part of other shows/channels/media giving recommendations/contributing to any activities related to the securities market. Pandya and Alpesh Furiya have also appeared on a show hosted by the spouse of Pandya," the order said.

The involvement of Pandya, as detected by SEBI, is not the first such instance of fradulatent trade by a mediaperson. Earlier also, TV anchors were found trading in stocks ahead of formal recommendations made on the channel.

Sebi is keeping a close watch on all media outlets through sophisticated machine learning technology to ensure that they don't indulge in any fraudulent activity.

Furiya and four connected entities executed a repeated and consistent pattern of trading, which was in synchronisation with the recommendations made by Pandya on his shows, Sebi alleged.

A Network18 group statement said it had a code of conduct for employees dealing with price-sensitive information and that one of the anchors barred by Sebi, Pradeep Pandya, "resigned from our organisation in August. His actions, as detailed in the Sebi order, would constitute a clear violation of our code as well as Network18's ethical standards. We will continue to provide all possible assistance to Sebi authorities."

With IANS Inputs