Bondconnect Securities, 2 Others Pay Rs15.92 Lakh To Settle Regulatory Violations

Moneylife Digital Team 10 March 2025

Investor Interest

Bondconnect Securities Pvt Ltd, formerly known as Wealthsigns Securities Pvt Ltd (applicant 1), along with two other parties, Aditya Umeshchandra Mehta (applicant 2) and Amal Manish Dani (applicant 3), paid Rs15.92 lakh to Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to settle a case of alleged regulatory violations.

The settlement comes after allegations that these three entities failed to ensure all orders placed on their online bond platform for debt securities were routed through a stock exchange's RFQ (request for quote) platform.

In response to the show-cause notice (SCN) issued on 24 October 2024, the applicants proposed a settlement without admitting or denying the findings of facts or legal conclusions. This proposal was part of their effort to resolve the matter through a settlement process.

A settlement application was filed by each applicant on 19 December 2024. The applicants sought to resolve the issue in a manner that would not involve an admission of wrongdoing but would instead bring an end to the regulatory dispute.

On 15 January 2025, after discussions with the SEBI internal committee (IC), the applicants proposed revised settlement terms.

The revised settlement terms were reviewed and approved by SEBI's high-powered advisory committee (HPAC) which recommended a settlement amount of Rs15.92 lakh. The recommendation was then passed on to SEBI Panel of whole-time members (WTM), which approved it on 20 February 2025.

Following the approval, the applicants remitted the settlement amount. SEBI confirmed receipt of the payment on 1 March 2025, marking the completion of the settlement process.

This settlement complies with SEBI's Settlement Regulations and brings closure to the matter. However, the order also notes that SEBI retains the right to initiate enforcement actions if it is discovered that the applicants have failed to make full and true disclosures or violated the settlement terms.

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