SEBI identified Hanif Shekh as the “mastermind” and one of the ultimate beneficiaries of the operation
| Photo Credit:
ABEER KHAN
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred 222 individuals and entities from the securities market for four to seven years after unearthing a coordinated pump-and-dump operation spanning five listed companies, where stock prices were allegedly rigged through synchronised trades, misleading investment messages and layered fund transfers before shares were sold at inflated prices.
In a 394-page final order, the regulator also imposed monetary penalties totalling ₹47.7 crore and directed disgorgement of unlawful gains made through the scheme. The case relates to Mauria Udyog, Vishal Fabrics, 7NR Retail, GBL Industries and Darjeeling Ropeway Company between 2017 and 2020.
SEBI identified Hanif Shekh as the “mastermind” and one of the ultimate beneficiaries of the operation. He has been barred from accessing the securities market for seven years and fined ₹10 crore.
Manipulation pattern
The manipulation followed a common pattern across all five stocks. The first stage involved connected entities trading among themselves to create artificial price movement and trading volumes in otherwise illiquid stocks that had neither significant corporate announcements nor any meaningful improvement in financial performance.
Once trading momentum had been created, buy recommendations were circulated through bulk SMSes and stock recommendation websites. The messages carried headers such as “BT-ZROHDA” and “BT-ICISEC”, resembling the names of well-known brokers, to lend credibility to the recommendations and induce retail investors to buy the shares.
“The bulk SMSes were found to have been sent from headers… which mimicked the names of various reputed brokers… purportedly to create an impression of credibility,” the order said.
SEBI said its investigation linked the SMS campaign to Shekh through telecom records, WhatsApp chats with SMS service providers, website registration details and information obtained from airlines, travel portals, banks, hotels and other independent sources.
After investor interest picked up, another set of connected entities offloaded shares at inflated prices. According to the regulator, the proceeds were routed through multiple conduit entities before eventually reaching company promoters and entities controlled by Shekh. The regulator estimated unlawful gains from the scheme at ₹143.79 crore.
The order also records company-specific findings. In Mauria Udyog, SEBI found that 62 employees participated in the offloading of shares before transferring sale proceeds to promoter-linked entities. In Darjeeling Ropeway Company, promoter Himanshu Shah was allegedly provided an exit from the company at an inflated price through the fraudulent scheme. “A promoter using his own company to perpetrate a fraud deserves a higher quantum of penalty,” Whole-Time Member Amarjeet Singh said in the order.
SEBI also found RBI-registered NBFC Goenka Business Finance Ltd to have played a significant role in creating artificial price movement and trading volumes in certain scrips. The final order concludes proceedings initiated through an interim order issued in June 2023.
Published on July 1, 2026
