The scam around pledging of client securities without consent has set off a blame game and consequent crackdown by SEBI. But are the checks and balances good only till the next fraud happens?
Last month, IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank filed criminal complaints against Karvy Stock Broking Ltd for defrauding them of Rs 137 crore, Rs 350 crore and Rs 563 crore, respectively. The Hyderabad Police then arrested Karvy founder and chairman C. Parthasarathy, its chief executive officer and its chief financial officer, among others.
The arrests came in the wake of Karvy being declared a defaulter, a fraud loan account and its broking licence being revoked by stock exchanges for pledging client securities without consent.
But Karvy is not alone. Since 2018, over 30 stockbrokers have defaulted in complying with …
Advait is a financial journalist and a former writer at The Morning Context. Here, he wrote on India’s banks, the wider financial services industry and the fintech ecosystem. He has previously worked with the Economic and Political Weekly, Business Standard, BloombergQuint and MediaNama, where he covered everything from the Reserve Bank of India to fintech policy.
Writer
advait@mailtmc.com
Mumbai