By Vidya
Copyright indiatoday
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has opposed former stock broker Ketan Parekh’s plea to travel abroad, alleging a “sinister motive” behind his repeated applications. Calling Parekh, a “habitual offender”, the market regulator told the court that his applications were a “cloak to disguise ongoing illegal activity”.Sebi has filed a reply to Parekh’s application seeking permission to travel abroad to the UK, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, the European Union and Georgia for four months from October 4 to February 3, 2026..preferred-source-banner{ margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom:10px;}He has sought travel permission to spend time with his family and attend two weddings taking place in November this year and January 2026.The market regulator pointed out that Parekh had sought permission to travel abroad earlier as well, from December 2024 till March 2025 and now he wants to travel to nine locations across five continents.Sebi further pointed to its January 2 interim order that “directed the accused herein along with other noticees to disgorge an amount of Rs. 65,77,11,547”.It noted that another accused in the case, a conspirator, is from Singapore and one of the places that Parekh wants to go to is Singapore.SEBI also pointed to its ex-parte interim order which talks about the covert modus operandi adopted by Parekh and said, “Parekh used multiple SIM cards not in his own name and was saved in the phones of co-conspirators under aliases such as ‘Jack’, ‘Boss’, ‘Bhai’, and ‘Wellwisher’. This deliberate concealment of identity is a clear indicator of his intent to evade detection. If permitted to travel abroad, monitoring his activities or communications would be impossible.””It is reasonable to apprehend that if permitted abroad for a prolonged period, Parekh may attempt to transfer, conceal or launder funds overseas, thereby frustrating the disgorgement and recovery directions issued by Sebi,” it added.Sebi said that while earlier permissions were sought on compassionate grounds by Parekh, “the investigation has shown that during the same period he was actively engaged in orchestrating fraudulent trades through WhatsApp groups.””This pattern shows that travel applications are used as a cloak to disguise ongoing illegal activity.”The interim order has attained finality as it has not been challenged by Parekh before the Securities Appellate Tribunal. Parekh has also, as yet complied with the directions of the order wherein he, along with his Singapore-based conspirator, have as yet not complied with the direction to disgorge an amount of Rs. 27 crore of ill-gotten profits earned through the fraudulent modus operandi as brought out in the order, said Sebi.It further said that permitting Parekh to travel abroad would only jeopardize the enforcement of the interim order and the ongoing trial against him in the 2000-2001 security scam.The market regulator added that Parekh claims to be a man of meagre means with just a house in Bengaluru in his name, while the travel abroad for months would incur a significant expenditure. That too, when he has already travelled for months in less than a year.Parekh had been debarred by SEBI for a period of 14 years in the year 2007, but despite the debarment, SEBI alleges that it has found that he was involved in the securities market .The reply also claims that leveraging the anonymity afforded by international travel, Parekh and his related entities may exploit various technological means, such as encryption and the use of cryptocurrency, to obscure their transactions and communications.”Ultimately, the actions of such individuals pose significant threats to the economic integrity and public trust of our country.”- EndsPublished By: Karishma Saurabh KalitaPublished On: Sep 29, 2025
