Markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi, his wife Maria Goretti, and 57 other entities from participating in securities markets for periods ranging from one to five years. The regulator has also imposed fines of Rs 5 lakh each on Warsi and his wife, who have both been banned from the securities market for one year.
The ban is related to a stock manipulation scheme involving Sadhna Broadcast Ltd (SBL), coordinated through social media messages. Huge illegal gains were made by several parties involved through a pump and dump scheme. In such a scheme, price of a stock is artificially inflated through false and misleading statements, and selling your shares once the price has risen significantly thanks to the interest generated through these false statements.
Arshad Warsi and Maria Goretti posted misleading videos on their YouTube channels recommending investors to buy shares of Sadhna Broadcast, bringing them under the scanner of SEBI.
