Ambanis cleared of charges in L&T insider trading

MUMBAI, JAN. 22. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has cleared Reliance Industries and its Chairman and Managing Director, Mukesh Ambani, and his brother Anil Ambani, who is Vice-Chairman and MD, from charges of insider trading in Larsen and Toubro (Land T) scrips prior to selling their holdings to Grasim Industries Limited (GIL). "It is proved that unpublished price sensitive information was not received by RIL or the Ambanis as insiders of Land T and as such they cannot be held liable for violation of Regulation 3 of SEBI's insider trading norms,'' the SEBI Chairman, G. N. Bajpai, who headed a three-member committee, said in his January 21 order. The committee, which comprised the Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor, K. J. Udeshi, and the SEBI wholetime board member, A. K. Batra, held that RIL and Ambani brothers had not violated the provisions of the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 1992 as alleged in the showcause notice of February 18, 2003, it added. — PTI