Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has ordered Zara Portal proprietor Anurag Jaiswal to refund ₹47.05 lakh collected from investors through unregistered investment advisory activities, imposed a penalty of ₹7 lakh and barred him from accessing the securities market for one year after completion of the refund process.
The market regulator found that Mr Jaiswal operated an unauthorised investment advisory business while falsely projecting himself as a representative of Sai Proficient Research Investment Advisory (SPRIA), a SEBI-registered investment adviser. By impersonating the registered entity and promising assured returns, he induced investors to pay substantial advisory fees without possessing the mandatory SEBI registration.
The proceedings stemmed from complaints received against SPRIA through SEBI's SCORES platform. During its examination, the regulator found that the complainant, Arun Agarwal, had received emails in 2018 from
[email protected], claiming to represent SPRIA and offering stock and commodity market advisory services. The emails advertised a six-month advisory package costing ₹3.75 lakh, promised profits of around ₹9 lakh and falsely claimed that the sender was a SEBI-registered investment adviser.
Although the emails and invoices carried SPRIA's name and logo, SEBI's investigation found that the payments were routed through the payment gateway Easebuzz, where the merchant was identified as Zara Portal. Documents obtained from Easebuzz showed that the account belonged to Anurag Jaiswal, who had opened it to provide stock advisory services. Payments made by investors were credited to his Easebuzz wallet and to his Bank of India account.
SEBI found that Mr Jaiswal had collected ₹47.05 lakh as fees for unauthorised investment advisory services. This included ₹34.88 lakh received through the Easebuzz account opened specifically for stock advisory activities and ₹12.17 lakh credited directly to his Bank of India account and identified as advisory fees. Since he was not registered as an investment adviser with SEBI, the regulator held that these activities violated the SEBI Act and the SEBI (Investment Advisers) Regulations.
The regulator also held that Mr Jaiswal violated the Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices (PFUTP) Regulations by impersonating a SEBI-registered intermediary, using misleading communications and promising assured returns to investors. According to SEBI, these actions amounted to fraudulent and deceptive practices intended to mislead investors into availing illegal investment advisory services.
SEBI noted that, despite being served with the show-cause notice (SCN) and subsequent reminders, Mr Jaiswal neither filed any reply nor appeared before the regulator. Relying on earlier rulings of the securities appellate tribunal (SAT), SEBI observed that, in the absence of any response, the allegations contained in the show-cause notice (SCN) could be treated as admitted and the matter could be decided ex parte.
The regulator observed that Mr Jaiswal deliberately created the impression that he was associated with a genuine SEBI-registered investment adviser by using SPRIA's name, logo and email identity. It said he lured investors by making false claims of assured profits, a practice expressly prohibited under securities laws, thereby misleading investors into paying hefty advisory fees.
Observing that such practices undermine investor confidence, SEBI ordered the refund of the entire amount collected, imposed a penalty of ₹7 lakh and barred him from the securities market for one year.
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