New Delhi, May 30(HS): The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi, his wife Maria Goretti, and his brother from trading in the securities market for one year due to involvement in a pump and dump case. Each has been fined five lakh rupees, and SEBI has confiscated 1.05 crore rupees considered illicit earnings. The case arises from instances of artificially inflating shares of Sadhna Broadcast Limited (renamed Crystal Business System Limited) and subsequently selling them at high prices. Seven additional individuals received a five-year ban, bringing the total to 54 individuals banned for one year, including Warsi and his family.

The investigation indicated that Manish Mishra was the main accused, collaborating with Warsi to create a deceptive environment around Sadhna Broadcast Limited to attract aggressive investment. This led to significant share price increases, with claims that Warsi and others were aware of the structured trading tactics employed. SEBI discovered the use of fake YouTube videos and paid marketing to mislead investors. When share prices surged, company promoters sold their shares to retail investors.

Warsi and his family asserted that they were unfamiliar with stock market intricacies and victims of fraud, resulting in losses. However, SEBI denied their claims, referring to a conversation revealing that Warsi was aware of trading through his and his family’s accounts. Additional evidence, including WhatsApp chats, indicated involvement by Sadhna Broadcast Limited promoters. Gaurav Gupta was noted to have made the highest profit of ₹18.33 crores from the scheme. SEBI also imposed various fines on other accused individuals, with Mishra fined ₹5 crores and others between ₹1 crore to ₹2 crores.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar