Sebi reprieve for Credit Suisse, Indiabulls

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today let off foreign brokerage house Credit Suisse, with just a warning for its alleged role in share price manipulations in DSQ Biotech scrip during December 1999 to March 200.

In another development today, Sebi also dismissed its interim order against Indiabulls Securities, which barred the depository participant from dealing in securities market for alleged involvement in the initial public offering (IPO) share allotment manipulation scam.

Passing the order, which asked Credit Suisse "to be careful in the future," Sebi said it took a lenient view in DSQ Biotech price manipulation case after taking into consideration the two-year ban served by the foreign broking firm from April 18, 2001, for price manipulations during the same period.

In separate case relating to alleged short selling in Reliance Industries stocks during December 2002, the capital market regulator had imposed a ban of Rs 10 lakh on Credit Suisse last year.

The latest order relates specifically to price manipulations in DSQ Biotech, now known as Origin Agrostar. Sebi said its investigations found irregular transactions in the shares of DSQ Biotech. It was also found that Credit Suisse, which was a registered broker on the NSE and the BSE, had entered into transactions "which were in the nature of synchoronization of trades/matched orders."

Earlier, Credit Suisse had announced its plans to re-enter the country by re-launching its institutional broking  business, besides entering the asset management business.