SEBI accuses Reliance Industries of wrongful share trading

Mukesh Ambani said he would appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal

Market regulator SEBI accused Reliance Industries on Friday of having committed a "fraud" in taking a short trading position at the time of selling a stake in a subsidiary in 2007, ordering it to surrender 4.5 billion rupees ($69 million) plus interest in "unlawful gains".

Reliance, the $64 billion conglomerate controlled by India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani, rejected the ruling by the Securities and Exchange Board of India and said it would appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal.

In its ruling SEBI alleged that before Reliance Industries sold a 5 percent stake in Reliance Petroleum in November 2007, when it was a