The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has slapped a penalty of Rs 3 lakh on actor Shilpa Shetty, her businessman husband Ripu Sudan (Raj) Kundra and their company Viaan Industries for violating insider trading norms and disclosure lapses. Shilpa and Raj are promoters of Vivaan Industries.
A total of Rs 3 lakh has been imposed on them to be paid jointly and severally. The order follows a probe by the stock exchange watchdog that found Viaan industries and its promoters delayed the disclosures with respect to an allotment of preferential shares by three years.
In 2015, Viaan Industries had made a preferential allotment of 500,000 equity shares. Of this 128,800 equity shares each were allotted to Kundra (referred to as Ripu Sudan Kundra) and Shetty, the promoters of the company.
In this regard, they were required to make timely requisite disclosure to the company in terms of PIT norms since the transactions exceeded Rs 10 lakh in value.
SEBI said the value of the transaction was Rs 2.57 crore each and the disclosures pertaining to the 2015 transaction were made only in 2019.
“It is on record that the relevant disclosures under the PIT Regulations were made by the Noticees with a delay of more than three years,” Sebi noted.
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“Therefore, considering these facts and circumstances, I hold that this case deserves imposition of monetary penalty upon the Noticees,” said adjudicating officer Suresh B Menon in an order. Noticees refer to Viaan Industries, Shilpa Shetty Kundra and Ripu Sudan Kundra. Shilpa and Ripu are the promoters of the firm.
In reply to a notice from the regulator, Shetty and Kundra acknowledged the mistake and said it was not done with malafide intent.However, the SEBI adjudicating officer Suresh B Menon refused this explanation and imposed a fine, in an order on Wednesday. Viaan Industries was formerly known as Hindustan Safety Glass Industries Ltd.
