The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has carried out a major search operation targeting a prominent financial influencer in Mumbai, Kamlesh Varshney, whole-time member (WTM) of Sebi, revealed on Thursday.
Though he declined to name the influencer, Varshney said, “It’s a big name in that industry. And I must give credit to my team because we have been working on this case.”
Speaking at the capital markets conference organised by FICCI in Mumbai, Varshney said Sebi was focusing on high-profile cases not to collect revenue but to make an impact, in line with the chairperson’s ideology. “The idea is to create fear in the market that there is law enforcement, there is a regulator who is watching you, so that people follow the law voluntarily,” he said.
He clarified that while many financial influencers provide legitimate education to investors, some engage in mis-selling or offer unauthorised tips, especially using live trading data. “If you are misguiding the youth in the name of education, promising guaranteed returns, giving calls in the classroom, using live data to trade in the equity market… you cannot do that without Sebi registration,” he said.
Sebi gets stern
Sebi’s search operation is the latest in a series of interventions against unregistered advisors and finfluencers found to be violating securities laws. Varshney said it demonstrated the regulator’s resolve to crack down on major players in the ecosystem. “Quality is more important than number,” he said.
On broader market surveillance, Varshney said Sebi has improved its technology to flag violations in real time and is investing in specialist talent, including PhD students, to keep pace with sophisticated market manipulation tactics such as algorithmic trading abuses and gamma manipulation.
Highlighting Sebi’s efforts to streamline IPO approvals, Varshney said application backlogs had been cut drastically. Sebi processed a record 21 IPO applications in July, Varshney said, terming it a record.
He also addressed concerns over strict registration rules for registered investment advisors (RIAs), pointing to recent relaxations in educational and fee requirements. However, he emphasised the need for robust investor protection measures. “How do we reduce the cost? How do we increase market participants? Those things are being worked upon,” he said.
