NEW DELHI: Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) issued directives on Wednesday prohibiting Sumant Kathpalia, former CEO of IndusInd Bank, and four other individuals from participating in securities market activities. The regulatory body has also impounded Rs 19.78 crore from them through an interim directive.The other executives facing restrictions include Arun Khurana, who served as executive director and deputy CEO; Sushant Sourav, who led treasury operations; Rohan Jathanna, who managed GMG Operations; and Anil Marco Rao, who held the position of chief administrative officer in consumer banking operations.Sebi in its statement said, “All the Noticees, viz. Noticee Nos. 1 to 5, are hereby restrained from buying, selling or dealing in securities, either directly or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever, until further orders.”The senior officials allegedly conducted trades in IndusInd Bank shares while having access to unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI), violating insider trading regulations, reported news agency PTI.The issue arose from a Master Direction issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which significantly affected IndusInd Bank’s operations. The bank’s internal personnel had assessed the financial consequences of the directive and held non-public information during this period.Sebi’s enquiry reportedly revealed that these five individuals conducted trading activities before the sensitive information became public knowledge, utilising their privileged access to confidential information for potential financial benefits.This comes just days after Sebi had announced that it was investigating potential violations by the bank’s senior management, alleging accounting frauds estimated at Rs 3,400 crore.Read more: Sebi probing IndusInd Bank’s senior management for ‘egregious violations’
