Ajay Bhatia Settles Insider Trading Case with SEBI

Ajay Bhatia, the former Managing Director and CEO of QuantLase Lab LLC, has resolved allegations of insider trading with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by paying a settlement amount of Rs 1.05 crore.

Beyond the settlement amount, Bhatia disgorged unlawful gains totaling Rs 55.34 lakh, alongside an interest payment of Rs 9.58 lakh. He has also agreed to a six-month voluntary ban from participating in the securities market, according to SEBI's official settlement order outlined on Tuesday.

The inquiry focused on Adani Green Energy Ltd's issuance of over 2 crore equity shares to International Holding Company (IHC) on a preferential basis dated April 8, 2022. SEBI noted this as Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI). It was alleged that Bhatia accessed this UPSI via emails and shared it with another individual, Supreet Singh Luthra, whilst engaging in trading activities involving AGEL, Adani Enterprises (AEL), and Adani Transmission (ATL).

(With inputs from agencies.)