The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has levied a fine of Rs 5.2 crore on OPG Securities and its three directors in relation to the National Stock Exchange (NSE) co-location issue.
In a 25-page order, Sebi imposed a penalty of Rs 5 crore on OPG Securities and its directors – Sanjay Gupta, Sangeeta Gupta, and Om Prakash Gupta – collectively for participating in unfair trade practices. Additionally, Sebi fined OPG Securities and Sanjay Gupta Rs 10 lakh each for failure to comply with the regulatory code of conduct and obstructing the investigation, respectively.
In the recent ruling, Sebi stated that OPG failed to maintain the necessary standards of integrity, care, and diligence in its business operations. Additionally, one of the directors was found to have obstructed Sebi’s investigations by not cooperating.
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) previously confirmed that OPG Securities had obtained unauthorized access to the NSE’s secondary server, resulting in unfair profits. SAT instructed Sebi to review the penalty and disgorgement amount, overturning a previous disgorgement order of Rs 15.57 crore issued by a Sebi member.
In September 2024, the market regulator dismissed charges against the NSE and its former executives due to a lack of evidence to support the allegations. However, the disgorgement amount for OPG was revised to Rs 85 crore. Despite the increase in disgorgement amount, the new penalty remains the same as Sebi’s 2021 order.
Prior to the new order, OPG requested Sebi to suspend proceedings until appeals in the Supreme Court are resolved. The market regulator clarified that the new proceedings solely focus on reassessing the penalty as mandated by the tribunal. OPG has contested previous Sebi findings in the SAT and Supreme Court, with appeals currently pending.
