Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has levied penalties totaling ₹75 lakh on DroneAcharya Aerial Innovations Ltd (DAIL) and its promoters for a series of fraudulent activities, including issuing misleading announcements, falsifying financial statements and misusing initial public offer (IPO) proceeds.
The penalised individuals and entities include Prateek Srivastava, Nikita Srivastava, Instafin Financial Advisors LLP, Sandeep Ghate and Micro Infratech Pvt Ltd.
DroneAcharya, which debuted on the BSE SME platform in December 2022 after raising nearly ₹34 crore, had earmarked ₹27.98 crore of its IPO funds for purchasing drones and related accessories. However, SEBI found that the company spent only ₹70 lakh on drones, while over ₹27 crore was diverted through dubious purchases of software and computer equipment.
According to SEBI’s order, several of these invoices were either inflated, inconsistent with market value, or issued by entities with no real software development capabilities. The regulator concluded that the company and its promoters knowingly misused and misrepresented how the IPO funds were deployed.
SEBI also uncovered inflated revenues in FY23-24, noting that DroneAcharya recorded ₹12.35 crore in revenue from Triconix and IRed, despite providing no goods or services to them. Without this fictitious income representing 35% of its annual revenue the company would have reported a pre-tax loss instead of the ₹8.44 crore profit it claimed.
The order states that the promoters intentionally manipulated financial performance to project an image of strong growth and stability.
Further investigation revealed that DAIL transferred ₹10.6 crore to Awyam Synergies, a promoter-linked entity, without disclosing the transaction in its IPO documents or annual filings—a clear breach of related-party transaction norms.
SEBI also criticised the statutory auditor, compliance officers, and the merchant banker for failing to identify or prevent these violations, thereby enabling the misconduct.
The regulator found that after the company’s listing, the promoters and associated entities executed a systematic plan to artificially maintain investor interest and support the share price. This included releasing exaggerated announcements about drone orders, global partnerships and business expansions.
SEBI noted that many of these announcements were misleading, inaccurate or unsupported by actual business activity. Their purpose was to create artificial demand and sustain elevated share prices, thereby enabling pre-IPO investors to exit at inflated valuations.
Another key violation highlighted in the order relates to the diversion of IPO proceeds through inflated or bogus invoices. Micro Infratech was specifically named for issuing such inflated bills which allowed the promoters to falsify fund utilisation records.
The regulator also found that DAIL failed to disclose several related-party transactions and submitted incorrect filings regarding utilisation of IPO funds both violations of LODR norms. Revenues and profits were artificially boosted through transactions with Triconix and IRed, neither of which engaged in genuine business dealings with the company.
The order further stated that Instafin Financial Advisors LLP and Sandeep Ghate played an active role in facilitating pre-IPO deals and other arrangements that formed part of the broader fraudulent scheme.
SEBI has imposed penalties under Sections 15A(b) and 15HA of the SEBI Act. DAIL was fined ₹10 lakh; Prateek and Nikita Srivastava were penalised ₹20 lakh each; Instafin Financial Advisors LLP and Sandeep Ghate received penalties of ₹10 lakh each; and Micro Infratech was fined ₹5 lakh. Additionally, SEBI imposed market access bans ranging from one to two years on the involved entities.
