Overview
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India issued a 394-page final order that identifies a coordinated scheme to inflate five small-cap stocks and bans 221 entities from the securities market.
- The order names investor Hanif Shekh as the alleged mastermind, bars him for seven years and levies a ₹10 crore penalty against him.
- SEBI says the network used synchronised and circular trades to create fake volume and then sent bulk SMS messages with broker-like sender IDs to lure retail buyers before connected parties sold at inflated prices.
- The regulator has calculated unlawful gains at ₹143.79 crore and directed all noticees to disgorge that amount with 12% annual interest from October 21, 2020, while starting recovery procedures.
- The final order, published Wednesday, July 1, 2026, converts earlier interim restraints into enforceable sanctions and signals tougher surveillance and tracing of layered conduit entities and digital evidence in future enforcement.