ICICI Securities pays Rs 40.2 lakh to settle case with Sebi

Brokerage firm ICICI Securities on Monday settled a case pertaining to the alleged violation of stock brokers rules with capital markets regulator Sebi, after paying Rs 40.2 lakh towards settlement charges.

The order came after ICICI Securities proposed to settle the matter without "admitting or denying the facts and conclusions of law", through a settlement order.

"In view of the acceptance of the settlement terms... The adjudication proceedings initiated against applicant (ICICI Securities) vide show cause notice (SCN) dated May 17, 2024 is disposed of in terms of the settlement regulations," Sebi's adjudicating officer Amit Kapoor said.

The order came after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) initiated adjudication proceedings against ICICI Securities for the alleged violation of Stock Brokers regulations.
Thereafter, a show cause notice was issued by the markets watchdog to the applicant on May 17, 2024 for the alleged violation.

The SCN alleged that applicant had failed to monitor its authorised person (AP), as trading terminals of five users, allocated to the AP were being operated from unknown places, which were not reported to the exchange.

Further, Sebi also observed that ICICI Securities allegedly did not have systems to monitor the trading practices of its authorised person, as the AP was using login credentials of the clients for online trading.

Additionally, the SCN had alleged that the applicant did not ensure that only the approved users operate the trading terminal allocated to them.

Pursuant to the receipt of the application, ICICI Securities filed revised settlement terms, which was approved by Sebi's High Powered Advisory Committee (HPAC).

Thereafter, ICICI Securities remitted the settlement amount of Rs 40.2 lakh which was confirmed by the regulator and the case was settled with Sebi.