The on Wednesday barred former Religare Enterprises executive chairperson Rashmi Saluja from the securities market for three years and directed her to disgorge ₹2 crore along with interest in an insider trading case linked to the Burman Group’s open offer for Religare Enterprises in September 2023.
In its 87-page final order, SEBI held that Saluja had traded in Religare shares while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI) relating to the impending open offer by the Burman family. The regulator ordered disgorgement of ₹2 crore, termed as “loss avoided”, along with 12 per cent annual interest from September 27, 2023, till the date of payment.
SEBI’s investigation stemmed from a complaint filed by entities belonging to the Burman Group in November 2023. The regulator examined whether Saluja had prior knowledge of the open offer announced on September 25, 2023, and whether she sold shares before the information became public.
According to the order, Saluja sold 12.93 lakh shares of Religare on September 21 and 22, 2023, for a cumulative value of about ₹34.7 crore. SEBI noted that the sales took place during the UPSI period, identified as September 8-25, 2023.
The regulator relied on WhatsApp chats, call data records and statements recorded during the probe. It observed that Saluja had meetings with A C Burman and Burman Group representative Arjun Lamba, including a meeting at The Oberoi in New Delhi on September 20, 2023.
It cited statements by Burman and Lamba that Saluja was informed during the meeting about the Burman family’s intention to launch an open offer for control of Religare.
While the regulator held that Saluja could not be classified as an “insider” merely because she was a connected person of Religare, since the UPSI originated from the Burman Group and not the company, it concluded that she was nevertheless in possession of or had access to UPSI before executing the trades.
Saluja had denied the allegations, contending that she became aware of the open offer only after the public announcement on September 25, 2023, and that the share sales were undertaken to fund the exercise of ESOPs in Care Health Insurance.