Sebi drops charges against NSDL

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has withdrawn all charges against the National Securities Depository (NSDL) in a case relating to the opening of fictitious demat accounts used to corner shares meant for retail investors.

The market regultor disposed of a showcause notice issued to NSDL, effectively clearing it of all pending charges, accrording to an order released on its website on Wednesday. Sebi conducted an investigation into the issue of shares through 21 initial public offerings (IPOs) during 2003-05.

The investigation revealed that certain individuals opened a large number of benami/fictitious demat accounts and used them to apply for shares under the retail category. Based on the findings, Sebi issued various directions against 82 financiers, 24 key operators, 12 depository participants (DPs) and two depositories.

The current Sebi chairman C B Bhave was the head of NSDL at that time.