SEBI found that the trio coordinated the dissemination of misleading buy recommendations through multiple Telegram channels to induce retail investors to purchase the stock, thereby artificially influencing its price and trading volumes.
SEBI's investigation covered the period from 1 November 2021 to 1 July 2022 and examined whether the accused had violated provisions of the SEBI Act and the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) Regulations. The regulator alleged that a larger network of 13 entities was involved in the scheme, including promoters, consultants, investors and intermediaries associated with Akash Infra.
However, after examining the evidence, SEBI concluded that violations were established only against Mr Jaiswal, Mr Agrawal and Mr Shukla.
According to the order, misleading stock recommendations were circulated on several popular Telegram channels, including Sure Means Sure, Intraday Trading Equity Stock, Intraday Share Trading Equity Stock, Intraday Share Training Stock and Intraday BankNifty Calls, between 11 February and 18 February 2022.
The messages urged subscribers to buy Akash Infra shares at ₹196-₹210, promising ‘upper circuits’ within days and returns of up to 40% in seven days, despite lacking any factual basis. The recommendations were posted repeatedly across channels with subscriber bases running into several lakh users.
SEBI found that Mr Jaiswal initiated the scheme by forwarding stock recommendations and instructions to Mr Agrawal, who then directed Mr Shukla to publish the messages on the Telegram channels under his control. WhatsApp chats and call records established continuous coordination among the three during the recommendation period.
SEBI also found that Mr Jaiswal paid ₹5 lakh to Mr Agrawal for promoting the stock, while Mr Shukla admitted to receiving commissions of ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 per day for posting the recommendations.
The investigation showed that the campaign had a significant impact on market activity. The number of unique traders in the scrip surged from 508 during the ten days preceding the Telegram campaign to 6,690 during the recommendation phase. The number of public shareholders increased more than threefold—from 1,639 on 11 February 2022 to 5,185 on 18 February 2022.
Trading volumes and share prices rose sharply on the days the Telegram recommendations were circulated. After the campaign ended, however, the stock steadily declined, eventually falling to ₹23.65 by 1 July 2022.
SEBI noted that the misleading recommendations created a false impression of strong prospects for Akash Infra shares and induced retail investors to buy the stock. The regulator held that the coordinated dissemination of false investment advice through digital platforms amounted to a fraudulent and unfair trade practice under the PFUTP Regulations.
While the investigation initially alleged that the company's promoters, consultants and certain investors had conspired to execute a broader pump-and-dump scheme and that net sellers had earned unlawful gains of about ₹11.94 lakh, SEBI said there was insufficient corroborative evidence to establish their involvement.
Observing that the three individuals had acted in a coordinated manner to manipulate investor sentiment and had previously faced penalties under Section 15HA of the SEBI Act, the regulator imposed a joint and several penalty of ₹20 lakh on Mr Jaiswal, Mr Agrawal and Mr Shukla for violating the anti-fraud provisions of the SEBI Act and the PFUTP Regulations.
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