Embassy Office Parks Management Services Pays Rs18.39 Lakh To Settle SEBI Case over Delayed Disclosure

Moneylife Digital Team 18 November 2025

Investor Interest

Embassy Office Parks Management Services Pvt Ltd, the manager to Embassy Office Parks REIT (Embassy REIT), has paid Rs18.39 lakh to market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to resolve adjudication proceedings concerning delayed disclosures arising from an order passed by the national financial reporting authority (NFRA) against its chief executive officer (CEO), Aravind Maiya.

SEBI conducted an examination to determine whether Embassy Office Parks Management Services had made timely and adequate disclosures to unit-holders as required under the SEBI (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Regulations, 2014.

The examination was triggered after NFRA found Mr Maiya, then CEO and key managerial personnel (KMP) of Embassy Office Parks Management Services, guilty of professional misconduct in his previous role as an auditor. This order constituted a material event requiring disclosure to the stock exchanges and REIT unit holders.

However, the NFRA order dated 19 August 2024 was disclosed only on 11 October 2024, a delay of 53 days. SEBI observed that Embassy Office Parks Management Services initially believed the fit-and-proper criteria would not apply to the CEO of a REIT manager and therefore, did not consider the NFRA order a disclosable event. The applicant obtained legal opinions supporting its view, but these too were not promptly disclosed. The opinion asserting that Mr Maiya continued to be ‘fit and proper’ was disclosed only on 19 October 2024, after a delay of 35 days.

SEBI also communicated its own assessment on 8 October 2024, stating that Mr Maiya no longer met the fit-and-proper criteria under the SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008. This communication was disclosed by the applicant 11 days later, on 19 October 2024.

These delays led SEBI to allege violations of Regulation 7(d) read with various clauses of Schedule VI and Regulation 10(14) of the REIT Regulations. A show cause notice (SCN) was issued on 30 May 2025, and adjudication proceedings commenced under Section 15HB of the SEBI Act.

During the pendency of the proceedings, Embassy Office Parks Management Services opted for settlement. After meetings with SEBI internal committee (IC) and subsequent consideration by the high-powered advisory committee (HPAC), the settlement terms were finalised. The HPAC recommended settling the matter upon payment of Rs18.39 lakh, which was accepted by SEBI Panel of whole-time members (WTM).

Embassy Office Parks Management Services remitted the settlement amount on 17 October 2025 and SEBI confirmed receipt of funds. Accordingly, the adjudication proceedings were disposed of on 17 November 2025, under Section 15JB of the SEBI Act and Regulation 23(1) of the Settlement Regulations.

SEBI has clarified that the settlement order does not preclude further action if any representations made during the settlement process are later found to be untrue or if Embassy Office Parks Management Services violates any conditions of the settlement.

Comments