Markets regulator SEBI on Wednesday imposed a penalty of ₹40 lakh on Rashmi Saluja, former executive chairperson of Religare Enterprises, and ordered her to disgorge wrongful gains in the form of losses averted of around ₹2 crore by selling the shares of the financial firm on the basis of 'unpublished price sensitive information'. According to reports from ET Now, the case pertains to Saluja's sale of shares while in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information regarding the Burman Group's impending open offer to REL's public shareholders. SEBI also directed Saluja to pay simple interest at 12 per cent per annum on the disgorgement amount from the date of sale until the date of payment, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine.
As reported by ET Now, Saluja engaged in insider trading regarding the sale of shares in the scrip of REL after September 20, 2023, but before September 25, 2023 - the date on which the UPSI concerning the open offer was made public. SEBI's 87-page order noted that Saluja was in possession of the UPSI with respect to the impending open offer by the Burman Group in the REL scrip and the act of sale of shares of REL by the noticee on September 21 & 22, 2023 was based on the aforesaid UPSI and carried out with the intention to avoid losses. SEBI observed that Saluja applied to Care Health's allotment committee for exercising the ESOPs only on October 3, 2023, indicating there was no immediate requirement to liquidate her REL holdings, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine. The regulator stated that Saluja avoided a loss of ₹1.99 crore approximately by selling the shares of REL prior to disclosure of UPSI on stock exchange platform.
According to The Hindu BusinessLine, the investigation period was from June 7, 2023, to December 25, 2023, following SEBI receiving a complaint in November 2023 from the Burman Group, requesting an examination into trades done by Saluja in the scrip of REL. The order came after SEBI investigated whether the noticee traded in REL's scrip while in possession of or having access to the UPSI regarding the Burman Group's impending open offer to REL's public shareholders on September 25, 2023 and whether that trading violated PIT (Prohibition of Insider Trading) norms. SEBI noted that Saluja did not display 'any element of surprise' in her chats with Lamba following the public announcement, which further strengthens the weightage on the preponderance of probability about the noticee being already aware of the Burman Group's intention to announce their open offer to the shareholders of the REL, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine.
As reported by ET Now, on September 25, 2023, before the opening of markets, JM Financial (Manager to the Offer) submitted to stock exchanges a copy of the public announcement for the attention of the public shareholders of REL in relation to an open offer to be made by the Burman Group for the acquisition of 90,042,541 shares at ₹235 per share, representing 26 per cent shareholding of REL. The case represents a significant enforcement action by SEBI against insider trading violations in the financial services sector. SEBI rejected Saluja's defence that the share sale was aimed at raising funds to exercise vested ESOPs in Care Health, noting that the open offer price was below the prevailing market price, as reported by The Hindu BusinessLine.
