New Delhi, Jan 30 (PTI) Markets watchdog Sebi on Thursday levied a fine of Rs 5 lakh on Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers Ltd for violating regulatory norms.

It has been directed to pay the fine within 45 days, according to an order passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Also Read | What Is One Ring Scam? Know How Cybercriminals Use Missed Call To Levy Expensive Charges, Steal Sensitive Information.

The order came after Sebi along with stock exchanges and depositories conducted an inspection of books of accounts and other records of Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers Ltd, a registered stock broker and depository participant, from November 25, 2021 to December 15, 2021.

The inspection period was from April 1, 2020 to October 31, 2021.

Also Read | Shillong Teer Results Today, January 30 2025: Winning Numbers, Result Chart for Shillong Morning Teer, Shillong Night Teer, Khanapara Teer, Juwai Teer and Jowai Ladrymbai.

In its probe, Sebi observed that funds of credit balance clients were mis-utilized for meeting the obligations of debit balance clients and/or for its own purpose. The amount of misutilization ranged from Rs 22.07 lakh to Rs 16.36 crore.

Also, the broker had not maintained the daily reconciliation statement during the inspection period, made incorrect reporting of margin collection to the exchange and had not correctly reported the details of financial data (total debit balance of all clients) under Risk Based Supervision to the tune of Rs 10 lakh.

Further, the regulator observed that trades were executed without the consent of the client (unauthorized trade) in 28 instances.

"I note that Noticee (Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers), being a Sebi registered intermediary, was required to comply with the extant applicable provisions of laws, which Sebi is duty bound to enforce. The Noticee failed to comply with the provisions of law ...and such failure and/or non-compliances accordingly needs to be dealt with suitable penalty," Sebi Adjudicating Officer Amar Navlani said.

Accordingly, Sebi imposed a penalty of Rs 5 lakh on the broker.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)