The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned Capital Worth Research House and its partners from the securities market for a period of three years for providing unauthorised investment advisory services.
Besides, they have been directed to refund more than Rs 1.54 crore to clients within three months.
The debarment of the entity and its partners will continue till the expiry of three years from the date of completion of the refund to investors, according to an order passed on Wednesday.
Capital Worth is a partnership firm, and its partners are Ankit Shrivastav, Mohammed Aamir Shaikh, Shahid Rangrej, and Sameer Memon.
SEBI found that Capital Worth, by engaging in the activities and holding itself out as an ‘investment adviser’ without having a valid certificate of registration, violated Investment Adviser (IA) rules.
The regulator also noted that the partners of Capital Worth are fully responsible for the contravention committed by the firm.
More than Rs 1.54 crore was credited into the account of Capital Worth between March-December 2018, as per the order.
In a separate order, the regulator slapped a fine of Rs 16 lakh on three individuals for misrepresenting the financials in the matter of Geodesic Ltd.
SEBI imposed a fine of Rs 6 lakh on Prashant Mulekar and Rs 5 lakh each on Pankaj Kumar and Kiran Kulkarni.
The order came after it conducted an investigation into the alleged irregularities in the books and accounts of Geodesic Ltd during the period—April 2012 to March 2013.
