- SEBI ordered interim action against Osiajee Texfab and 19 entities for price manipulation
- OTL shares rose 842% in a year despite negligible textile business revenue
- Top traders linked to Shreni Shares' Hoshiarpur branch drove coordinated trading activity
Market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has passed an ex-parte interim order against Osiajee Texfab Ltd (OTL), 19 connected entities and stock broker Shreni Shares Ltd, alleging a coordinated scheme involving artificial price inflation, misleading disclosures and synchronized trading that helped drive the company's shares up 842% in little over a year.
The regulator said OTL's stock surged from Rs 50.4 on Jan. 30, 2025 to Rs 474.8 on Jan. 27, 2026 despite what it described as negligible underlying business activity. The company's market capitalisation stood at about Rs 216 crore as of May 31, 2026.
According to SEBI, the company is officially engaged in the textile business and is listed on the BSE main board. However, its standalone revenue from textile operations fell sharply from Rs 2.06 crore in FY22 to Rs 0.69 crore in FY23 and Rs 0.07 crore in FY24, before dropping to nil in FY25 and just Rs 0.01 crore in FY26.
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The regulator found that almost the entire consolidated revenue and profitability of the group came from Osiajee Agro Farms Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary engaged in eucalyptus and poplar plantation activities. During a surprise inspection, OTL Managing Director Reema Saroya allegedly admitted there were no textile operations and that all income was generated through the subsidiary.
SEBI also questioned a May 13, 2026 corporate announcement claiming the company's textile business was "growing steadily" and cited annual report disclosures portraying OTL as an expanding textile business despite the absence of meaningful textile revenue.
A key pillar of the regulator's case is the trading activity behind the rally. SEBI found that the top 10 traders accounted for 67.38% of the positive last traded price contribution in the stock between April 30 and May 14, 2026. All of them traded through the Hoshiarpur branch of Shreni Shares Ltd and had opened their accounts there within the preceding months. Several had more than half of their trading activity concentrated in OTL shares.
The Hoshiarpur branch was managed by Akashdeep Jain, husband of OTL's managing director. SEBI found that the broker branch, OTL and Navraav Electro Ltd, an entity controlled by the same family, were operating from the same residential premises. The regulator said there was no arm's-length separation between the company and the broker branch.
During site visits, investigators found no signboards for OTL or its subsidiary, no invoices, no inventory, no stock records and no documentary evidence of business operations. The company reportedly had only one employee, its compliance officer.
SEBI further noted that despite a centralised recording system, Shreni Shares could not produce call recordings or evidence of order placement for trades executed by the key OTL traders.
The order details a web of fund transfers between company insiders, family members, top traders and related entities, along with frequent telephonic contacts. It also identifies 516 synchronised trades worth Rs 3.92 crore, including 183 trades executed within one minute. In most cases, buy and sell order prices matched, which SEBI said indicated a high degree of coordination.
SEBI has also alleged that Shreni Shares sold its entire OTL holding within seven trading days of the regulator's May 20 inspection and earned gains of Rs 82.57 lakh. The broker has been directed to park an equivalent amount in a fixed deposit with a lien marked in favour of SEBI.
Pending completion of a detailed investigation, SEBI has restrained all 19 noticees from buying, selling or dealing in OTL shares, saying the material on record points to a coordinated scheme designed to create artificial demand, inflate prices and mislead investors.
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