The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed five entities, including Netizen Engineering and Citi Securities and Financial Services, to pay Rs 1.3 billion for their involvement in diverting funds from Reliance Home Finance Ltd. Sebi has warned that if the entities do not comply within 15 days, it will take action to attach their assets and bank accounts.

The entities issued notices include Netizen Engineering Pvt Ltd, Gamesa Investment Management Pvt Ltd, Vinayak Ventures Pvt Ltd, Deep Industrial Finance Ltd, and Citi Securities and Financial Services Pvt Ltd. These demand notices follow the entities' failure to pay fines imposed by Sebi in August. Each entity is now ordered to pay Rs 260 million, covering interest and recovery costs, within the stipulated timeframe.

In case of non-payment, Sebi intends to recover the amount by attaching and liquidating the entities' movable and immovable assets and freezing their bank accounts.

The issue dates back to August when Sebi barred industrialist Anil Ambani and 24 other individuals, including former Reliance Home Finance (RHFL) executives, from the securities market for five years due to their roles in misappropriating funds. Ambani received a Rs 250 million penalty and was prohibited from holding any position in listed companies or entities registered with Sebi for five years. Additionally, RHFL was barred from the securities market for six months, facing a fine of Rs 600,000.

In a 222-page order, Sebi revealed that Ambani, aided by RHFL’s senior management, devised a scheme to misappropriate funds, presenting them as loans to entities affiliated with him. Despite RHFL’s board directives to curb such practices, the management continued these unauthorised transactions, reflecting a failure in governance influenced by Ambani.

The order also identifies other involved entities as recipients or facilitators of the diverted funds. Alongside Ambani, key RHFL officials—Amit Bapna, Ravindra Sudhalkar, and Pinkesh R Shah—were penalized, with fines of Rs 270 million, Rs 260 million, and Rs 210 million, respectively.

Additional penalties of Rs 250 million were imposed on related entities, including Reliance Unicorn Enterprises, Reliance Exchange Next, and Reliance Commercial Finance. Last week, Sebi issued demand notices to six entities, including RHFL's promoter, for a further Rs 154.50 crore in relation to the fund diversion case. (ET)