With liquor giant United Spirits asking its own chairman, Vijay Mallya, to quit, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and other regulatory agencies have started looking into suspected irregularities at the company, including about the alleged fund diversion and disclosure-related lapses.

United Spirits Ltd (USL), in which Mallya-led UB Group has sold controlling stake to UK-based Diageo Plc, asked Mallya to step down as chairman and director after an inquiry revealed fund diversion in the past to various UB Group firms including the now-defunct aviation venture Kingfisher.

NEW DELHI: Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Friday approached the Supreme Court seeking its direction for a three-year market ban on real estate giant DLF and its six top officials, including chairman K P Singh and his children Rajiv Singh and Pia Singh.

Agreeing to hear Sebi's plea, a bench of Justices J Chelameswar and R K Agrawal issued notice to DLF and its promoters. The market regulator had approached the court challenging a Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order which had quashed its order to bar DLF and its promoters from the market.

Concerned over a large number of unlisted firms fraudulently raising money from public, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), on Thursday, warned such companies and their directors of “stringent action” and asked investors not to be lured by their schemes.

The warning comes amid a continuing crackdown by SEBI against various unlisted companies that have lured retail investors by issuing securities such as non-convertible debentures/non-convertible preference shares in the garb of private placement.

Companies are required to inform shareholders of their annual general meetings 21 days before the event. However, shareholders who watch stock exchange websites for this information might not always get this three-week notice, according to Shriram Subramanian, managing director of InGovern Research Services. Reason: only some companies make an exchange disclosure; many don’t.

This problem related to non-uniform disclosure standards by companies on issues such as the important dates (as above) and material developments such as getting large orders or trading in securities by insiders is likely to be addressed with finality by the regulator.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has moved the Supreme Court, challenging a tribunal order in the matter of disclosure norm violations by real estate major DLF. The regulator filed its appeal last week and has sought an early hearing, according to two people in the know.

The appeal contests several grounds of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) order. "One of the observations in the SAT order was that clearance of the Sebi board was not taken before initiating investigation proceedings. On this, the appeal has said the investigation was directed by the Delhi high court in 2011," one of them said.

In a fresh crackdown on suspected tax evasion and laundering of black money through stock markets, regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday barred Mishka Finance and Trading and 128 other entities from the securities market.

While the total amount involved could not be ascertained, these entities are estimated to have shown fictitious capital gains to the tune of Rs.254 crore and just 29 of them made unlawful gains to the tune of Rs. 92 crore on an investment of just Rs. 2 crore.

The capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), under pressure to tighten scrutiny, is taking as long as a year to approve initial public offerings (IPOs). This has prompted criticism from companies, already grappling with unpredictable demand and a lack of alternative funding sources. The stock market has soared, touching record highs last month. It was Asia’s second-best performer last year, thanks to largely $16 billion of foreign investment.

But the boom has failed to translate into many IPOs, a vital source of capital, especially for small companies which make up the bulk of the economy yet often struggle to access keenly priced bank loans.

In a new twist to the high profile SEBI-Sahara case, the Indian capital markets regulator has approached a US court with a $12 million claim on proceeds from sale of a corporate jet owned by a Sahara Group firm.

The court has rejected the demand for now, saying that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) could not “properly file a claim prior to the Bar Date and in accordance with the terms of the Court’s order“.

To deepen the securitisation market, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has made it easier for banks and public financial institutions to act as trustees, while a new code of conduct has been put in place to safeguard investors’ interest.

Amending its Securitised Debt Instruments Regulations, Sebi said the move would further develop the market and “rationalise and clarify the role and responsibilities of trustee”.

As regulators try to contain one of India's most spectacular investment scandals, dozens of smaller but similar schemes continue to mushroom, employing tactics similar to the ones that enriched the Sahara group and later brought it to its knees.

Sahara began as a scheme for small depositors, but it grew over decades with investment plans that critics say were designed to avoid regulatory scrutiny. At its height, it was one of India's biggest business empires, stretching from Formula One motor racing to New York's Plaza Hotel.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.