Mumbai, Jan. 16: Hours after running in the Mumbai marathon, ADAG chairman, Mr Anil Ambani faced the cameras again, presenting his version of the Sebi order placing restrictions on him, fellow directors and two group firms.
Denying that the `50 crore paid to Sebi was a ‘penalty’, he also said that group firms or directors haven’t been banned or barred from the stock markets and that they retain full financial flexibility for fund raising and growth.
He also downplayed the consent order issued by Sebi, saying that the regulator has passed almost a 1,000 such orders in the past four years.
Thus, it seems that Mr Ambani, four fellow directors and the firms have voluntarily agreed to pay Sebi `50 crore and stay away from the secondary market for a two year period. Interestingly however, the `50 crore that has been paid to Sebi is a record high amount for any consent order in the past.
The regulators order, available on its website, mentions that Reliance Infra and RNRL were prima facie guilty of misrepresenting the nature of investments in “Yield management certifi-cates/deposits’, and the profits and losses thereof” — for three years.
Consequently, Mr Anil Ambani and four others were alleged to have violated some norms set by Sebi and the regulator initiated proceedings against them under various sections.
The Sebi order also mentions that the applicants via a combined letter proposed a settlement. Following the letter, a high power advisory committee set up by Sebi proposed a 2 year restriction on the two firms and five individuals, including Mr. Ambani, from investing in the secondary market.
The Sebi order also states that the two companies and their directors shall ‘jointly and severally’ pay a settlement charge of `25 crore each — to be borne by the individual noticees, and not the firms in question.