Mumbai News: Special SEBI Court Orders 2 M'Belle International Directors To Pay ₹1 Crore Each Or Face 6-Month Jail In 2004 Roofit Case

Mumbai: In the case of defaulting on a penalty of Rs1 crore imposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), the special SEBI court has asked the two directors of M’Belle International Pvt Ltd to pay Rs 1 crore each or serve six-month jail.

Company Ignored Repeated SEBI Warnings Since 2002

As per the prosecution, the market regulator conducted an investigation into the transaction of share prices of M/s Roofit Industries Ltd (RIL). In 2002, the investigating officer had asked M’Belle International to furnish information pertaining to share prices of RIL. However, the firm sought time till August 20, 2002, but failed to reply, prompting the SEBI to initiate proceedings.

SEBI Filed Criminal Case After Years of Delay

On June 20, 2004, a fine of Rs 1 crore was imposed on M’Belle International for non-compliance. The order was challenged by the firm, which was dismissed.

The prosecution said that SEBI issued a notice in 2007, asking the company to pay the penalty, warning that a criminal proceeding would be initiated otherwise. However, M’Belle International paid no heed and hence in November 2014, SEBI filed a criminal case.

An offence was registered against the firm's five directors – Suresh Hemwani, Gopu Belani, Anupama Motwani, Rita Motwani and Sushil Thakkar. The case against Hemwani was abated after his death in December 2021.

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Rita has been acquitted from all the charges, while Thakkar's matter has been separated. Now, Belani and Anupama have been asked to pay Rs 1 crore each. The SEBI will recover the fine from the amount once paid, said the court.