The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday directed Trafiksol ITS Technologies to refund the money paid by investors who had been allotted shares in the initial public offering (IPO).
Stock exchange BSE has been directed to oversee that the refund is processed within a week. The exchange had halted the listing of the SME firm after concerns raised to Sebi by market participants.
While dismissing the submissions by the SME firm to allow listing, Sebi noted that the findings of the investigation including those on alleged false financial statements are yet to be adjudicated.
The Rs 45 crore IPO of the software provider for traffic systems was halted amid complaints around use of issue proceeds and wrongful disclosures. The issue had garnered 345 times oversubscription.
In its order issued on Tuesday, Sebi pointed out to the dubious nature of the third-party vendor from which Trafiksol was to purchase a software utilising nearly 40 per cent of the issue proceeds. Sebi has concluded that the third-party vendor was a shell entity and alleged that the company tried to cover-up when the vendor’s credentials were examined.
The market regulator has proposed stringent norms for listing of SMEs following such concerns in the segment.