Sebi bans Alchemy Capital founders from market for a year

The markets regulator, Sebi has barred Lashit Sanghvi and his wife Neha Sanghvi - cofounders of Alchemy Capital Management - for one year from the securities market for allegedly conducting insider trading of Aptech shares.

The tip for Aptech shares allegedly came from late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. Lashit, Late Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and others co-founded Alchemy Capital Management, an investment management firm, and Jhunjhunwala was the chairman/ promoter of Aptech.

The regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India, levied penalties totalling ₹25 lakh on both the individuals and also barred them from dealing in the securities of Aptech for two years.

In its probe, Sebi found that Jhunjhunwala was in possession of UPSI and communicated the same to Lashit through a phone call.

“The present proceeding is emanating from a show cause notice dated October 01,2020 arising out of an investigation conducted by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) pertaining to the trading in the scrip of Aptech, for the period of March14, 2016 to September 07, 2016. The said investigation was undertaken by SEBI so as to ascertain as to whether certain entities have traded in the scrip of Aptech on the basis of unpublished price-sensitive information herein (UPSI),” said the Sebi order.