SEBI Asks Former TV Host Hemant Ghai To Pay Rs 50-Lakh Fine In Market Manipulation Case

The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Wednesday imposed a total penalty of Rs 50 lakh on former business news channel anchor Hemant Ghai, and an equal amount of fine on his wife Jaya Ghai for violating securities laws.

The market regulator also levied fines on MAS Consultancy Services and Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

The final order, issued by SEBI’s Whole Time Member Ashwani Bhatia, bars Ghai, his wife Jaya, and his mother Shyam Mohini Ghai from trading or associating with the securities market for five years.

The regulator found that Ghai had engaged in fraudulent trading practices by executing trades in his wife’s and mother’s accounts ahead of stock recommendations he made on CNBC-Awaaz over five years ago.

Additionally, SEBI found MAS Consultancy Services, an "authorised person" affiliated with Motilal Oswal Financial Services, guilty of submitting fabricated order instruction sheets and failing to maintain records of order instructions, thereby violating regulatory norms.

• Hemant Ghai and Jaya Ghai have been directed to jointly disgorge the profits earned from fraudulent trades, with a 12% annual interest from March 31, 2020, until the date of the interim order.

• They must deposit the amount into SEBI’s Investor Protection and Education Fund within 45 days.

• SEBI imposed monetary penalties of Rs 50 lakh each on Hemant Ghai and Jaya Hemant Ghai, and Rs 20 lakh on MAS Consultancy Services.

• MAS Consultancy Services and Motilal Oswal Financial Services were further fined Rs 10 lakh and Rs 5 lakh, respectively, under separate regulatory provisions.

• Failure to pay these penalties within 45 days will attract a 12% annual interest until the full amount is cleared.