Insider Trading: Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra Fined Rs 3 Lakh By SEBI

For breaking insider trading regulations, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) fined Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra, her businessman husband Raj Kundra, and their company Viaan Industries Rs 3 lakh.

Viaan Industries received a preferential allocation of 500,000 equity shares in 2015. The promoters of the company, Kundra (also known as Ripu Sudan Kundra) and Shetty, were each given 1.28 lakh equity shares. Kundra, Shetty, and Viaan were punished for a three-year delay in disclosing a preferential share allotment.

This company's shares are traded on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), and its promoters during the inquiry period were Ripu Sudan (alias Raj Kundra) and Shilpa Kundra (alias Shilpa Shetty).

Viaan Industries Limited made a "preferential allotment of 5,00,000 equity shares to four persons" on October 29, 2015, according to a SEBI order. "In this preferential allotment, Ripu Sudan and Shilpa Kundra each received 1,28,800 shares," the order reads.

Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra were obligated to provide the requisite disclosures to the firm following the preferential issuance of the shares.

The value of these transactions exceeded Rs 10 lakh, necessitating this declaration.

"In terms of Regulation 7 (2) (b) of the PIT Regulations, the company was required to make the necessary disclosures to the stock exchange within two trading days of the receipt of the disclosures from (Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra) or from becoming aware of such information pertaining to the transactions," the SEBI order said.

During the investigation, SEBI discovered that Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra failed to make timely relevant disclosures as required by Regulations 7 (2) (a) and 7 (2) (b) of the PIT Regulations.

As a result of their violation of the PIT Regulations, SEBI filed an adjudication complaint against them under Section 15 A (b) of the SEBI Act, 1992.

Following the investigation, SEBI fined Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra, and Viaan Industries Limited Rs 3 lakh for violating the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015.