How ‘guest experts’ pulled off nearly Rs 8 crore gain on Zee Business: SEBI crackdown reveals misleading tactics

Several guest experts, who appeared on the Zee Business news channel to make stock recommendations, have been pulled up by the markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and ordered to pay ₹7.41 crore.

SEBI on February 8 took action against 15 experts who appeared on the channel between February 01, 2022, and December 31, 2022 and are said to have made ₹7.41 crore as ‘unlawful gain’ that they made by taking opposite positions in the market than they advised on air.

As per the order, a few of them were directly involved in taking such unlawful trades while others allegedly enabled them. Some have even been barred from trading in the market until further orders, the market regulator said.

How did it all happen?

SEBI Whole Time Member Kamlesh Varshaney, in his order, wrote, ‘The Noticees have played specific roles at various stages which have, prima facie, been found to be in violation of the SEBI Act and the regulations made thereunder.’

He said that the analysis of evidence gathered during the investigation reveals that guest experts shared advance information on recommendations to be made by them with profit makers, before the broadcast of the recommendations on Zee Business.