Sebi imposes Rs 15 cr penalty on FT MF chief executive, fund managers

Regulator cites obsession with high-risk strategies without factoring concomitant risks; fund house to appeal order

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday imposed a cumulative penalty of over Rs 15 crore on top officials of Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund (FT MF) and its trustee for violation of Sebi regulations while managing the six schemes wound up last year.

The regulator imposed Rs 3 crore penalty on FT Trustees Services and Rs 2 crore each on chief executive officer (CEO) Sanjay Sapre and chief investment officer (CIO) Santosh Kamath.

Five other fund managers were levied a fine of Rs 1.5 crore each and chief compliance officer was asked to pay Rs 50 lakh.