SEBI imposes two year trading ban on Cyberspace Ltd

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has imposed a two-year trading ban on Cyberspace Ltd for indulging in manipulative trading through entities owned by its promoters.

"I restrain Cyberspace from buying, selling and dealing or accessing the securities market in any manner for a period of two years," said an order from V K Chopra, member, SEBI.

"Promoters of the company and directors were rotating the shares in the market to create artificial volumes by using the names of various entities associated to them," the order pointed out.

The company's promoters and directors used their employees to float companies and trade in their name. They also floated shell companies in different names to manipulate the scrip of the company, the SEBI order observed.

Investigations on the period October 1999 to March 2001 have revealed manipulative trading in the Cyberspace scrip through promoter-owned entity Century Consultants Ltd that led to a crash in its price by 16 per cent daily during February-March 2001.

Trading in the scrip was suspended from April 19, 2001 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and from April 30, 2001 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

Cyberspace promoters Arvind Johari and A M Johari and his family had not accessed the securities market since then.