Traders suspect Sebi's surveillance list was leaked, says report

A section of stock brokers and traders suspect that the list of stocks on Sebi’s monitor list was leaked prior to the official release, reported The Hindu BusinessLine.

Speculations emerged about a possible leak after share prices of over a dozen stocks that came under the Additional Surveillance Measure (ASM) list fell prior to the official announcement on May 31, said the report.

This incident happened at a time when the Sensex and the Nifty rose more than 1% and the broader market was fairly stable, the report added.

A section of brokers and traders suspect that some Mumbai and Gujarat-based operators may have got access to the list before it was published on stock exchange websites, the daily said.

“There are rumours of a leak of the ASM list. Sebi should probe the May 31 trades in stocks that were part of the list as this is a case of a leak at its own doorstep or that of the stock exchanges… The leak of the ASM list is as notorious as the WhatsApp case. Most stocks on the ASM list fell before the announcement was officially made,” a promoter was quoted saying in the report.

The allegations came after Sebi introduced the ASM in consultation with exchanges for enhanced surveillance mechanism.