In two interim orders, SEBI barred 31 entities, including Arshad Warsi and his wife Maria Goretti, from the capital markets for their involvement in stock manipulation schemes
The market regulator said that the entities manipulated stocks of two media companies – Sadhna Broadcast and Sharpline Broadcast – by spreading false news about them through YouTube channels
Some of the claims made by these channels included Adani Group taking over Sadhna going ahead and the media company moving from TV production to movie production
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday (March 2) issued two interim orders barring 31 entities, including actor Arshad Warsi and his wife Maria Goretti, from the capital markets for their involvement in stock manipulation schemes with the use of YouTube channels.According to SEBI, Warsi and his wife Goretti acted as VCs and made illegal gains worth INR 29.43 Lakh and INR 37.56 Lakh, respectively. The market regulator’s report suggested that together, the entities made a profit of INR 41.85 Cr by manipulating the stock price of Sadhna, while the manipulation in Sharpline scrip resulted in the involved entities making profits to the tune of INR 12 Cr.During the period of the rise in volume in the shares of Sadhna, some promoter shareholders, key management personnel, and non-promoter shareholders with over 1% of shareholding in the company started offloading a significant part of their holdings at inflated prices to book significant profits, it said.According to Mohata, stock manipulation activities via digital media platforms have become common these days. Ahead of any well-publicised security offering like an IPO, influencers on various social media platforms or through YouTube channels disseminate unverified information to solicit interest in the scrip, he added.
SEBI said that it had begun a preliminary investigation in the cases after receiving complaints that a few YouTube channels were uploading “misleading” videos with false content about two media companies – Sadhna Broadcast Ltd and Sharpline Broadcast Ltd. Backed by paid marketing campaigns worth crores of rupees, the videos lured investors to pump money in these company stocks, the regulator said.