Sebi begins probe into Balaji trading

Market regulator Sebi has initiated an investigation into insider trading charges at Balaji Telefilms, whose volumes and stock price had sho...

Market regulator Sebi has initiated an investigation into insider trading charges at Balaji Telefilms, whose volumes and stock price had shot up just before a crucial deal with Star was announced last week.

Top Sebi officials said it was in the process of getting data from the stock exchanges and from those stock brokers who traded in the Balaji scrip before the deal was announced. ‘‘We have just collated data,’’ a top Sebi official told The The Indian Express. ‘‘Then we will investigate further,’’ he added.

Analysts say it is difficult to nab insider traders as shares are sometimes brought and sold in fictitious names. Till date only Hindustan Lever and Alliance Capital’s Samir Arora have been accused and both have moved the courts and SAT against Sebi’s decision.

The Sebi action follows an expose in this newspaper, which showed that daily average volumes of Balaji shot up by 1,785 per cent on the NSE, from 88,141 shares a day between June 1-July 15 to 16.59 lakh a day between July 16-August 19.

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