Financial Missteps: SEBI Cracks Down on Seya Industries

SEBI has imposed penalties totaling Rs 58.50 crore on Seya Industries' executives, including promoter Ashok Rajani, for fund siphoning and financial misrepresentation. The alleged fraud involved related entities and fake transactions violating SEBI's regulations. Executives face bans from the securities market for five years.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has levied penalties amounting to Rs 58.50 crore on senior executives of Seya Industries, including promoter and chairperson Ashok Rajani and his son Amrit Rajani, for allegedly siphoning funds and falsifying financial statements.

According to a comprehensive 122-page order, SEBI determined that Seya Industries redirected Rs 81.26 crore to entities linked to its promoters under the guise of sales and purchases over FY19 to FY21, continuously breaching crucial financial norms. These transactions were not disclosed to the public markets as related party transactions, infringing multiple SEBI regulations.

As a consequence, SEBI has barred Ashok Rajani, Amrit Rajani, Asit Kumar Bhowmik, and Sivaprasada Rao Buddi from serving in capital markets for five years and mandated the recovery of siphoned funds into Seya Industries within six months, citing a loss of investor confidence.

(With inputs from agencies.)