Market regulator SEBI has disposed of adjudication proceedings against Shilpa Shetty and her husband, Raj Kundra, in a case related to alleged disclosure lapses related to allotment of shares of their company, Viaan Industries. The two were promoters of the company in March 2015. In a July 30, 2021 order, SEBI stated that due to a change in their shareholding, the allegation levelled against them were “not sustainable”.
It may be mentioned here that SEBI had on 28th July imposed a fine of Rs. 1 lakh each on Shilpa Shetty, Raj Kundra, and their company, Viaan Industries (formerly Hindustan Safety Glass Industries) for insider trading in the company’s stock between 2013 and 2015. In October 2015, the company had made a preferential allotment of 5 lakh shares to four people, of which more than 51% were to Shilpa and Raj for Rs. 2.6 crore. Under SEBI’s insider trading rules, if anyone had gotten preferential allotment of shares worth more than Rs. 10 lakh, the fact should have been disclosed. Besides the Kundra couple, the company was also liable to make a disclosure to the SEBI within two days. Instead, the company made the disclosures after three years from the date of allotment. In spite of imposing the fine, SEBI had admitted that the non-disclosure had neither resulted in any monetary gains for the promoters nor any unfair advantage.