SEBI bars CRB MF custodian from sale of securities

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) today issued an order under Section II B of the SEBI Act asking the custodian of CRB Mutual Fund not to dispose of any of the securities held in its custody on behalf of CRB Mutual Fund. It has also directed it to submit inventories of the securities held in the portfolio of scheme of the Fund. The action against the custodian of CRB fund — IIT-Corporate Services Limited was prompted when the trustees of CRB MF did not turn up at the meeting called by the SEBI today for further course of action. The SEBI is contemplating action against the individual trustee members so that they are barred from any important position of any trust in the future after examining the legal implications of the trustees absence from the meeting. According to a SEBI statement issued here, the ban on CRB MF against launching any new schemes for nine months up to June 1996, is now being extended till further orders. The statement said that after August 1994 no scheme of CRB Mutual Fund had been launched or allowed to be launched. A scheme, for which offer document was recently filed with SEBI, has also been disallowed. An interim report has been obtained by SEBI from Kalyaniwala Mistry the firm which was appointed by SEBI a few months ago to inspect the CRB MF for the second time. The interim report shows several irregularities which are being looked into, added the statement. For the first time the CRB MF was inspected by SEBI through MP Chitale and Company for the year 1994-95. This led to the appointment of an enquiry officer on the basis of whose report SEBI asked CRB MF not to launch any new schemes for nine months, ending June 30, 1996. SEBI has also approved other punitive measures taken against the group companies by the BSE.