Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has amended the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003. Effective from the date of publication in the Official Gazette, the amendments introduce definitions related to “mule accounts,” clarify acts constituting fraudulent practices including diversion of assets or manipulation of financial statements, and emphasize that transactions through mule accounts are deemed manipulative practices. These amendments aim to strengthen regulations against fraudulent activities in the securities market.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA
NOTIFICATION
Mumbai, the 27th June, 2024
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE BOARD OF INDIA (PROHIBITION OF FRAUDULENT AND UNFAIR TRADE PRACTICES RELATING TO SECURITIES MARKET) (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS, 2024
No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2024/187.—In exercise of the powers conferred under Section 30 of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992), the Board hereby makes the following regulations to further amend the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003, namely: –
1. These regulations may be called the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024.
2. They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
I. in regulation 2, in sub-regulation (1), –
i. in clause (b), in sub-clause (i), after the words “of the Act” and before the symbol “;”, the symbol and words “, either by themselves or through mule accounts” shall be inserted;
ii. after clause (d), the following clause shall be inserted, namely–
“(da) “mule account” includes a trading account maintained with a stock broker or a dematerialised account or bank account linked with such trading account in the name(s) of a person, where the account is effectively controlled by another person, whether or not the consideration for transactions in the account are paid by such other person;”.
II. in regulation 4, in sub-regulation 1, the existing Explanation shall be substituted by the following Explanation namely, –
“Explanation.– For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that-
(i) any act of diversion, misutilisation or siphoning off of assets or earnings of a company whose securities are listed or any concealment of such act or any device, scheme or artifice to manipulate the books of accounts or financial statement of such a company that would directly or indirectly manipulate the price of securities of that company, or
(ii) transactions through mule accounts for indulging in manipulative, fraudulent and unfair trade practice shall be and shall always be deemed to have been included in sub-regulation (1).”
BABITHA RAYUDU, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
[ADVT.-III/4/Exty./220/2024-25]
Footnotes:
1. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003 was published in the Gazette of India on July 17, 2003 vide No. S. O. 816(E).
2. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) Regulations, 2003 was amended on –
i. April 23, 2007 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Manner of Service of Summons and Notices Issued by the Board) (Amendment) Regulations, 2007 vide No. SEBI/LAD/DOP/2232/2007;
ii. December 11, 2012 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) (Amendment) Regulations, 2012 vide No. LAD-NRO/GN/2012-13/25/5455;
iii. September 06, 2013 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) (Amendment) Regulations, 2013 vide No. LAD-NRO/GN/2013-14/22/22670;
iv. December 31, 2018 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 vide No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2018 /56.
v. March 13, 2020 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 vide No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2020/08.
vi. October 19, 2020 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2020 vide No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2020/36.
vii. January 25, 2022 by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices relating to Securities Market) (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 vide No. SEBI/LAD-NRO/GN/2022/71.
