CNBC Awaaz anchor Hemant Ghai, his wife and his mother were barred from the capital markets by SEBI, the Capital Markets Regulator, on Wednesday.
After finding that they were indulging in the fraudulent trade practices using the recommendations made in his show "Stock-20-20”, SEBI barred them and directed Hemant to cease and desist from undertaking any activity related to the market and to impound the proceeds of Rs 2.95 crore generated by fraudulent trades.
The show “Stock 20-20” provides suggestions regarding buying and selling of certain stocks during the day. SEBI said in its order that Hemant had the prior information about the recommendation to be made on the show and he directly or indirectly used it for his own benefit.
It analysed the trading pattern in the trading account of Jaya Hemant Ghai (wife) and Shyam Mohini Ghai (mother) for the period between January 1, 2019, and May 31, 2020 and observed a high correlation of their trades with the stocks recommended in the show.
They used to purchase the shares one day prior to the recommendation on the show and then on that day, used to sell their shares to capture the significant benefits from the price movement caused by the recommendations.
All three of them are liable for violating the provisions of SEBI’s PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) Regulations. And hence, are restrained from performing any activity related to the capital market.
The Network18 Group said that it had fired Ghai “with immediate effect” after becoming aware of the SEBI order.