SEBI fines stock brokers, related entity ₹28 crore for price manipulation

This image is used for representational purposes only. | Photo Credit: Reuters The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) impounded the bank accounts of Prrsaar Sampada Private Limited and its related entity, Chaubara Eats Private Limited, amounting to ₹28 crore for price manipulation between October 2025 and June 2026, according to an interim order released on Wednesday (September 16, 2026).“Prrsaar and Chaubara have been observed to be prima facie involved in the repetitive cross-segment price manipulation using stock futures and stock options during the examination period across the top 13 scrip and top 10 scrip days, by profit, respectively. This has resulted in cumulative wrongful gains amounting to approximately ₹28.12 crore made by these entities over a period of about 9 months,” SEBI said in an interim order.The entity places huge quantities of aggressive orders for buying or selling stock futures at a higher or lower than the long-term average price, respectively, when they already have executed sentimentally opposite buy orders below LTP or sell orders above LTP in the options segment, SEBI said.Prrsaar incurred losses in its futures trades, but since it took a larger position in the option market of the same stocks, it made higher profits in the latter, SEBI said, adding that this pattern was neither hedging nor arbitrage, as the options positions were too divergent from the future position and they were directionally opposite trades.“Such a trading pattern is manipulative and fraudulent, as the entities intentionally distorted the price in one segment (say the futures segment) to benefit another segment (say the options segment) at the expense of other investors, thus deceiving other investors and impacting the integrity of the market,” the regulator said in a note highlighting the order.SEBI ordered that bank accounts of Prrsaar Private Limited and its promoters Ved Prakash Gupta and Priti Gupta be impounded to the amount of ₹22,06,44,706. Chaubara Eats Private Limited and its promoters Saroj Gupta and Gaurav Tomar’s account will also be impounded to the amount of ₹6,05,63,836.SEBI also barred the seven notices – Prrsaar Private Limited and Chaubara Eats Private Limited and its promoters – from the capital market until the impounding amount was paid, while providing them 21 days to respond to the interim order. Published - September 17, 2026 09:57 am IST