Zee's Punit Goenka pays ₹50.7 lakh to settle insider trading case with SEBI

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd's managing director and chief executive officer Punit Goenka has made a payment of ₹50.7 lakh to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to settle the proceedings initiated against him for alleged violation of insider trading rules.

The case dates back to September 1, 2020, when ZEE announced the launch of Cinema 2 Home Service, Zeeplex, a pay per view service. Zeeplex gave the consumers flexibility and convenience to watch their favourite films in the comfort of their homes.

The market regulator's investigation concluded that the announcement of the launch of Zeeplex amid Covid-19 restrictions was positive news about the company which was an 'expansion of business'. During the course of investigation, it was found that certain information which was Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) had not been considered as such by ZEE.

Unpublished price sensitive information means any information, relating to a company or its securities, directly or indirectly, that is not generally available which upon becoming generally available, is likely to materially affect the price of the securities. Such information includes financial results, dividends, change in capital structure, mergers, de-mergers, acquisitions, delistings, disposals and expansion of business and changes in key managerial personnel.

Punit Goenka was the MD and CEO of ZEE during the launch of Zeeplex and it was alleged that Goenka failed to put in place adequate internal controls within the company to identify UPSI and failed to identify the said information as UPSI, according to SEBI.

To decide the matter, SEBI's High Powered Advisory Committee in its meeting held on March 9, 2023, considered the facts of the case and the revised settlement terms proposed by the ZEE CEO and recommended the case for settlement upon payment of ₹50.7 lakh.

SEBI's new logo

On Wednesday, the market regulator unveiled its new logo. Unveiling the logo, SEBI Chairperson, Madhabi Puri Buch said, "SEBI's new logo seeks to reflect the unique combination of rich traditions of SEBI and new data and technology based approach to all the three areas of its mandate in the securities market development and regulation of the Securities Market and Investor Protection."

The new logo of SEBI reflects the continuing commitment of SEBI to being a facilitator in the growth of the economy through capital formation and retaining its rich tradition of a consultative approach in policymaking while adopting the power of data and technology. The new SEBI logo retains its traditional blue colour palette.