Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala under Sebi lens for insider trading: Report

Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has been asked to appear before the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in a case of alleged insider trading in shares of Aptech Ltd, according to a report by Mint.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala is the chairman of Aptech Ltd and he holds a 24.24% stake, valued at about Rs 160 crore in the company.

DH could not independently verify the report.

"The regulator is examining a time frame of February 2016 to September 2016 for irregular trades, which it suspects were done on the basis of insider information," a person with direct knowledge of the matter told the publication on condition of anonymity.

Insider trading refers to the practice of trading in shares of a company based on information that is not made public. Under Sebi’s insider trading norms, communication of unpublished price-sensitive information is also considered a violation.

According to the report, on September 7, 2016, shares of Aptech hit the maximum stock price limit in trading on a given day of Rs 175.05 after the investor’s brother and wife—Rajeshkumar Jhunjhunwala and Rekha Jhunjhunwala— bought 763,057 shares in the IT firm through block deals. Rekha and Rajeshkumar have also been summoned by the market regulator.