0 Coming down heavily on HDFC Bank Ltd for violating its orders, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has asked the lender to deposit Rs158.68 crore along with interest in an escrow account and pay a penalty of Rs1 crore. SEBI found HDFC Bank violated its interim order and unilaterally invoked securities pledged by BRH Wealth Kreators Ltd (BRH) (formerly BMA Wealth Creators Ltd) and BRH Commodities Private Ltd (formerly BMA Commodities Pvt Ltd), worth Rs158.68 crore.
In the order, G Mahalingam, whole time member (WTM) of SEBI says, "Given the unilateral action of HDFC Bank to avoid SEBI’s interim order, I am of the view that the alleged violations of SEBI circulars as also the failure to conduct due diligence by HDFC Bank to verify the ownership of securities pledged at the time of creation of the pledge, are not relevant for consideration at this point in time. As stated earlier, the validity of the pledge at the time of creation does not justify the subsequent act of invocation by HDFC Bank on 14 October 2019, post the interim order."