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In an unusual use of RTI route, the main accused of over Rs 1,500-crore ‘StockGuru’ scam has tried to get information on various money guarantee products and services, as also on lotteries and MLM schemes.
The details about the regulations governing these products and services, as also on the permission granted to various entities engaged in such activities, were sought under the Right to Information (RTI) Act from the capital markets regulator SEBI.
After SEBI declined to provide the details saying that the requested information was not available with it, the applicant Ulhas who goes by several names like Lokeshwar Dev and Ulhas Khaire, approached the Appellate Authority of the capital markets watchdog.
However, the Appellate Authority has also dismissed this appeal, saying that there was no need to interfere with the decision of SEBI and the regulator “is not obliged to provide a response where the information sought is neither clear nor specific“.
“However, if the appellant still wishes to get information, he may prefer a fresh application before the respondent specifying clearly the exact information he wants from SEBI,” the Appellate Authority said in an order dated September 11, 2013.
In his appeal, Ulhas had submitted he was not satisfied and aggrieved with Sebi’s reply and the regulator always tries to “hide information... (and) was abusing RTI, as I am the owner of SGI Group and asking for the information for myself“.
After probing the activities of SGI Group (StockGuru India), SEBI had passed an order in January this year against Ulhas, his wife and other entities associated with them, wherein they were barred from the capital markets for ten years and were asked to refund the money collected fraudulently from the gullible investors.
The entities floated by the two for their dubious schemes included SGI, SGI Research and Analysis and StockGuru.com.
Earlier also, Ulhas had tried to get information through RTI route from SEBI about complaints and other information against him available with the regulator, but that plea was also rejected by SEBI as well as the Appellate Authority.
In his latest plea, Ulhas had sought information on permission given to “Amway, a MLM (Multi Level Marketing) company, to do business in India”, as also details about companies offering various money—back guarantee products and services such as ‘Zero Addiction, Sandhi Sudha, KashKalp, Shubha Dhanavarsha’
He wanted to know whether any company needs to take SEBI’s permission before offering a 100 per cent money back guarantee products, refunds or bonds.
The RTI application also included information on whether a company needs to take permission from SEBI “to start a lottery system for gifts, rewards or awards” on purchase, businesses of sale of any products.
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