SEBI alleges Omaxe routed ₹46.50 crore to fake public shareholding

This order addresses SEBI's investigation into allegations that Omaxe Limited used company funds to finance the acquisition of its own shares by entities classified as public shareholders, thereby falsely meeting Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norms. It also examines allegations that Omaxe funded the shareholding of its former CFO, Vimal Kumar Gupta, and his family, which were also counted towards MPS compliance.

Who it concerns: Omaxe Limited, Rohtas Goel, Sunil Goel, Jai Bhagwan Goel, Sushma Goel, Seema Goel, Dream Home Developers Pvt Ltd, Guild Builders Pvt Ltd

What SEBI found or ordered

• SEBI alleges Omaxe transferred ₹46.50 crore to DVM Realtors and Garv Buildtech, which was routed through Jeet Builders to seven entities for acquiring Omaxe shares in OFS tranches on June 3, 2013, and October 29, 2013.
• The identified entities acquired 33,42,310 shares in total, which were treated as public shareholding; excluding these, SEBI states the public shareholding would have been approximately 14.57% and 19.04% after the respective OFS tranches, failing to meet the 25% MPS requirement.
• SEBI alleges that from 2015 onwards, Omaxe and group entities funded Vimal Kumar Gupta (former CFO) and his family with approximately ₹7.32 crore for acquiring and holding Omaxe shares, which were also counted towards MPS.
• The order is based on a Show Cause Notice (SCN) alleging violations of the SEBI Act, SCR Act, LODR Regulations, and PFUTP Regulations regarding non-compliance with MPS norms and misrepresentation of promoter shareholding structure.

Also in the document

• The alleged fund flow involved ₹46.50 crore routed through multiple entities including Jeet Builders Pvt. Ltd. and various stock brokers.
• The investigation covers a period from 2013 (OFS tranches) to 2023 (shareholding build-up of Vimal Kumar Gupta's family).
• The order notes that Omaxe issued bonus shares to public shareholders to bridge the MPS shortfall, and the allegedly funded entities participated in this bonus issue.