Sebi debars Ramesh Gelli, KP entities from dealing in GTB scrip

Securities and Exchange Board of India, on Tuesday, debarred promoters of Global Trust Bank Ramesh Gelli and associates, and Ketan Parekh entities from dealing in GTB scrip in any manner, for alleged manipulations in the bank's shares, till the regulator completes investigations in the case.

Sebi chairman G N Bajpai in his order said investigations at the current stage prima facie show that the promoter group (Gelli and associates) KP entities and others were involved in market irregularities (in GTB shares), detrimental to the interest of markets and investors.

Persons and entities against whom action is taken under Section 4(3), 11 and 11B of the Sebi Act have been debarred from buying, selling, transferring, pledging or disposing off or dealing in any manner in GTB shares till probe is completed.

"The post decisional hearings before Sebi chairman for these entities is scheduled on February 3-4, 2003," it said.

The promoter group entities had acquired 1.44 crore (14 million) GTB shares in 1999 from erstwhile technical collaborators - T A Enterprise of Malaysia and Hembrecht & Quist - and sold about 1.31 crore (13 million) shares by way of syncronised/structured deals/to entities owned by or associated with KP around same period.

KP entities used these shares to create artificial market and to manipulate prices of GTB shares during November 1999 to February 2000 prior to preferential allotment in March 2000.

GTB shares prices were also manipulated during the period October 2000 to February 2001, prior to the announcement of the proposed merger of GTB with UTI Bank, Sebi said in the order.