5 officials settle case with SEBI over regulatory violations, pay Rs 95.55 lakh

Mumbai: Five current and former officials of Add-Shop E-Retail Limited (ASERL) and White Organic Agro Limited (WOAL) on Thursday settled a case with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regarding alleged violations of regulatory norms.

They collectively paid Rs 95.55 lakh as a settlement amount. ASERL is engaged in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of Ayurveda products, while WOAL operates in the organic food business.

The case was settled by Dadhania Vivek Gopalbhai, an audit committee member of ASERL, along with Nirajkumar K Malaviya, the company secretary and compliance officer of ASERL.

Others involved in the settlement include Jigna V Thakkar, an audit committee member of WOAL, Dharmesh Bhanushali, the audit committee chairman of WOAL, and Chandresh Regulations, the former audit committee chairman of WOAL.

Out of the total amount, Malaviya contributed Rs 40.95 lakh, while the other four paid Rs 13.65 lakh each.

The settlement was reached after the officials submitted an application to SEBI, seeking to resolve the matter without admitting or denying the allegations under the regulator’s settlement norms.

SEBI, in its order issued on March 6, acknowledged the settlement and confirmed that the proceedings against the individuals had been closed.

The case originated from complaints received between December 2021 and September 2023, which alleged irregularities related to related-party transactions and false announcements about supply orders.

Following the complaints, the market regulator launched an investigation covering the period from April 2020 to March 2023.

The probe aimed to determine potential violations of the SEBI Act, Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) Regulations, and Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations.

The investigation revealed that ASERL and WOAL allegedly misrepresented their financial statements for the financial years 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23.

It was also found that ASERL had falsified records related to the attendance of independent directors in audit committee and board meetings during the same period.

–IANS