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SEBI Slaps ₹1.35 Crore Penalty on Oriental Trimex, Promoters and Others for Accounting Irregularities
Moneylife Digital Team 18 February 2026
Investor Interest
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed monetary penalties totalling ₹1.35 crore on nine entities, including the promoters, directors and associated entities of Oriental Trimex Ltd (OTL), for large-scale misrepresentation and manipulation of the company’s financial statements. The action follows an extensive investigation spanning several years.
 
The entities involved are Rajesh Kumar Punia (managing director-MD), Savita Punia (whole-time director), Om Prakash Sharma, Mirage Marble Private Ltd, Nirmal Marble Ltd, Abhishek Jain, Vivek Seth and Jitendra Surendra Gupta.
 
The order follows a detailed investigation into the company’s financial disclosures for the period from FY16-17 to FY19-20. SEBI found that Oriental Trimex had falsified sales and purchase transactions to present a misleading picture of its financial position to investors and stock exchanges.
 
SEBI observed that Oriental Trimex inflated its revenue and raw material consumption by recording transactions with 22 entities that were either non-existent, struck off from official records, not traceable at their registered addresses or not engaged in the marble business, which is the company’s core activity.
 
These 22 entities accounted for a substantial portion of Oriental Trimex's reported turnover, ranging from nearly 80% to almost 90% of total revenue and purchases in certain financial years under review, raising serious concerns over the credibility of the company’s financial statements.
 
The regulator further noted that many of these counterparties had their GST registrations cancelled or suspended, while others were found to be dealing in unrelated goods such as garments, sanitary products, agricultural commodities and cement, indicating that the reported transactions lacked commercial substance.
 
Physical verification carried out during the investigation revealed that most of these entities were not operating from their declared addresses. Several companies had negligible assets, failed to file statutory financial statements or had already been struck off by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
 
SEBI also uncovered circular movement of funds among interconnected entities. Money was routed through related parties and transferred to Oriental Trimex on the same day or shortly thereafter, often in identical amounts, creating the appearance of genuine business transactions.
 
According to the regulator, this structured fund flow mechanism was designed to artificially inflate turnover and profitability, thereby misleading investors who relied on the company’s published financial results for investment decisions.
 
Based on these findings, SEBI held that Oriental Trimex violated provisions of the SEBI Act, the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Regulations and the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, and failed to ensure proper oversight by its board and audit committee.
 
Taking into account the gravity of the violations, SEBI imposed monetary penalties on Oriental Trimex and the concerned entities.
 
Comments
josephpv06
3 months ago
The auditors would be active participants in these activities. They should also be subjected to severe action. Unfortunately the action taken involves small penalties. The penalty should pinch hard so that such things do not recur.
Reply
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