Since overhauling the insider trading regime with the introduction of the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 (“PIT Regulations”), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) has continually sought to fine tune and tweak the regulations through amendments in 2018 and 2019. On July 17, 2020, SEBI notified the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Prohibition of Insider Trading) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 (“PIT Amendment”), to introduce further changes to the PIT Regulations.
Continue Reading Recent Amendments to the Insider Trading Regime
SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations 2015
SEBI and WhatsApp leaks: Every link in the chain matters
“The most valuable commodity I know of is information.”
– Gordon Gekko, Wall Street
Over the past few weeks, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has passed three orders[1] (SEBI Orders) in the infamous ‘WhatsApp leak’ saga that has been in the news since November 2017[2]. Holding the impugned perpetrators guilty of violating insider trading regulations, the regulator has taken significant steps in pushing the boundaries of the concepts of insider, UPSI and insider trading.Continue Reading SEBI and WhatsApp leaks: Every link in the chain matters
A New Year Ushers in the Insider Trading Regulations, 2015 Version 2.0
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) ended the year with a bang by issuing a number of notifications on December 31, including the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) (Amendment) Regulations, 2018 (PIT Amendment Regulations). The PIT Amendment Regulations come into force on April 1, 2019 and will have significant impact on the manner in which listed companies and intermediaries navigate the market conduct framework.
Continue Reading A New Year Ushers in the Insider Trading Regulations, 2015 Version 2.0
Insider Trading: Hindustan Lever Limited v. SEBI
Image credit: Scroll.in, September 26, 2017
This is the second piece in our series entitled “Those Were the Days”, which is published monthly. We hope you enjoy reading this as much as we have enjoyed putting this together.
This post deals with Securities Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) interpretation of the term “Unpublished Price Sensitive Information” (UPSI) arising from the alleged insider trading by Hindustan Lever Limited (now Hindustan Unilever Limited) (HLL) in its purchase of shares of Brooke Bond Lipton India Limited (BBLIL).
While the subject SEBI order employed provisions of the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 1992 (1992 Regulations), this post also analyses the relevant provisions of the subsequently notified SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015 (2015 Regulations) in relation the subject case.
Case Analysis: Hindustan Lever Limited v. SEBI[1]
The facts of the case concerned the purchase by HLL of 8 lakh shares of BBLIL from the Unit Trust of India (UTI) on March 25, 1996. This purchase was made barely two weeks prior to a public announcement for a proposed merger of HLL with BBLIL.Continue Reading Insider Trading: Hindustan Lever Limited v. SEBI