SEBI bans former IndusInd Bank CEO Sumant Kathpalia, 4 others from securities market

IndusInd Bank executives are accused of trading in IndusInd Bank shares while in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI)

Markets regulator Sebi on Wednesday barred former Chief Executive Officer of IndusInd Bank, Sumant Kathpalia, and four others from accessing the securities markets, in connection with an alleged case of insider trading in the bank's shares.

Sebi's investigation found that the five individuals executed trades before this sensitive information was made public, using their access to confidential insights for potential personal gain.(REUTERS file)

Also, the regulator has impounded ₹19.78 crore collectively from the five individuals, according to an interim order passed by Sebi.

The other officials restrained by Sebi are Arun Khurana, Executive Director and Deputy CEO of the bank at the time of the alleged violation; Sushant Sourav, Head- Treasury Operations; Rohan Jathanna, Head- GMG Operations and Anil Marco Rao, Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)- Consumer Banking Operations.

These senior executives are accused of trading in IndusInd Bank shares while in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI), a breach of insider trading regulations.

The case stems from a Master Direction issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which had a significant impact on IndusInd Bank's operations. The bank's internal team had evaluated the financial implications of the directive and possessed non-public information at the time.

Sebi's investigation found that the five individuals executed trades before this sensitive information was made public, using their access to confidential insights for potential personal gain.

Accordingly, SEBI said: “All the Noticees, viz. Noticee Nos. 1 to 5, are hereby restrained from buying, selling or dealing in securities, either directly or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever, until further orders.”