Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a one-year ban on Reliance Industries (RIL) from trading in equity derivatives.
The company has also been asked to disgorge ₹447 crore plus interest in a 10-year old case. The total penalty amount, including interest, could work out to nearly ₹1,000 crore.
The case dates back to 2007, when SEBI alleged that RIL violated norms in merging Reliance Petroleum (RPL) with itself. The Mukesh Ambani-led company challenged the SEBI charges at the Securities Appellate Tribunal in December 2010. The tribunal, however, upheld the regulator’s ruling.
The SEBI order, published on its website, says RIL and 12 other entities violated provisions of Section 12A of the SEBI Act, 1992 and SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to the securities market) Regulations, 2003.
SEBI has prohibited the 13 entities, including RIL, “from dealing in equity derivatives in the F&O segment of the stock exchange, directly or indirectly for one year”, from the date of the order.
RIL has 45 days to make the payment.
In a late evening statement, RIL said it would appeal against the SEBI order.