Sebi's Rs 5.35 Cr Demand on OPG Securities

New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) Sebi has sent notices to stock broker OPG Securities and its directors asking them to pay Rs 5.35 crore, in a case of unfair access to secondary market servers in connection with the NSE co-location issue, and warned of attachment of assets as well as bank accounts if they fail to make the payment within 15 days.

The demand notices came after the entities failed to pay the fine imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in April 2025.

In three separate recovery notices issued on Monday, the regulator directed OPG Securities and its directors -- Sanjay Gupta, Sangeeta Gupta, and Om Prakash Gupta -- to pay dues totalling Rs 5.35 crore within 15 days. This included a penalty amount and an interest.

In the event of non-payment of dues, the market regulator said it will recover the amount by attaching and selling their moveable and immovable properties. Besides, they face attachment of bank accounts and arrest.

In its order passed in April, Sebi levied a fine of Rs 5 crore on OPG Securities and its directors jointly for engaging in unfair trade practices.

Additionally, Sebi imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh each on OPG Securities and Sanjay Gupta for non-compliance with the regulator's code of conduct and hampering the investigation, respectively.

"Noticee 1 (OPG Securities) gained an unfair advantage by repeatedly accessing the Secondary POP Server, thereby making unlawful gain. Regardless of the quantum of such unlawful gain, it is evident that the manner in which Noticee 1 connected to the secondary server constituted an unfair practice, which was recurrent in nature. This amounts to a serious violation," Sebi had stated.

Furthermore, the regulator had highlighted that OPG Securities failed to uphold standards of integrity, due skill, care, and diligence in its business operations, while also neglecting to ensure compliance with statutory requirements.

Since the Guptas were directors of OPG Securities during the period of violation, they were deemed vicariously liable for the company's actions, it had added.