SEBI bans Wealth It Global proprietor from markets for five years

SEBI bans Wealth It Global proprietor from markets for five years

Mohit Manghnani has been slapped with a fine of Rs.30 lakh

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred an individual, Mohit Manghnani (proprietor of Wealth It Global), from the markets for a period of five years.

Manghnani was penalized with a Rs.30 lakh fine for flouting regulatory norms. Besides, he has been restrained from associating himself as a director or key managerial personnel with any listed public company or a SEBI-registered intermediary. Additionally, he has been ordered to resolve all complaints received through SEBI's Scores portal within three months.

The order of the capital markets regulator came after it passed an ex parte order against Manghnani and the latter approached the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT), which remanded the matter back to SEBI, directing it to pass a fresh order.

SEBI noted that Manghnani did not cooperate during the inspection and deceived his clients by not disclosing the information regarding the change in the address and stopping of business. Further, the noticee made promises of assured and unrealistic returns to clients and sold non-suitable services by charging exorbitant fees, thereby violating the provisions of the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Rules and investment adviser (IA) norms.

The markets watchdog also observed that 53 complaints were pending against Manghnani since September 2018, and he did not take any steps to resolve those. Thus, flouting the provisions of the IA regulations.

SEBI noted that the noticee collected Rs.7.30 crores received from clients/investors/complainants on or after 01 April 2018 as fees or consideration or in any other form for investment advisory activities.

In two separate orders, the markets regulator also suspended the registration of two brokerage houses — the Indian Portfolio Ltd and Sincere Commodities and Derivatives Markets for their involvement in illegal paired contracts on the now-defunct National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL).