Markets regulator Sebi has found broker Stockholding Services (formerly SHCIL Services, a subsidiary of Stockholding Corp) had failed to carry out proper due diligence of its clients. As a result, 1,103 of its clients were declared as ‘dependent children’ aged between 34 years and 100 years. Sebi has fined the broker Rs 9 lakh.
The regulator had carried out an inspection of Stockholding Services between April 2022 and June 2023. During the inspection, it found that the broker had failed to do proper due diligence for several of its clients.
In one of its replies to Sebi, the broker said that it appeared that these clients were having a lack of clarity about providing a declaration of the mobile numbers and email IDs, along with providing relationship details. “We have a number of large old accounts of many senior citizens and others who did not have their individual email ID and mobile numbers at the time of account opening, when the regulatory requirements of exchanges were not applicable.”
