SEBI Slaps Rs1 Lakh Penalty, Bans Vivek Krishnamoorthy of Trade Sharks for Running Illegal Investment Advisory
Moneylife Digital Team 19 April 2024
Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Vivek Krishnamoorthy (noticee) of Trade Sharks for six months for providing illegal investment advisory services. While slapping a fine of Rs1 lakh, SEBI also asked Mr Krishnamoorthy to refund Rs99,800 collected as fees from clients or investors.
 
SEBI received a complaint about services offered by Mr Krishnamoorthy through a Telegram channel under the name Trade Sharks. 
 
The complainant provided evidence, including a screenshot of investment advisory packages from the Telegram channel 'Trade Sharks', a partial PhonePe payment screenshot of Rs2,200 made to a mobile number associated with Mr Krishnamoorthy and two screenshots showing a purchased subscription worth Rs2,999 labelled as 'Trade Sharks Premium’. 
 
During its investigation, SEBI found that the HDFC Bank account of Mr Krishnamoorthy had multiple credit entries matched with the fee specified for investment advisory services or packages marketed on the Telegram channel. The narration or description of multiple credit transactions in the account had the terms for investment advisory services, trading, trade, calls and premium.
 
The market regulator also barred Mr Krishnamoorthy from undertaking, either during or after the expiry of the period of restraint and prohibition, either directly or indirectly, investment advisory services or any activity in the securities market without obtaining a certificate of registration from SEBI as required under the securities laws.
Comments
ArrayArray
Free Helpline
Legal Credit
Feedback