SEBI fines two firms ₹3.7 crore for CAS manipulation

SEBI fines two firms ₹3.7 crore for CAS manipulation SEBI charged Copthall Mauritius Investment and Mansi Share and Stock Broking Private Limited as they manipulated the markets during the newly introduced closing auction session.

Key points

• Similarly, Mansi stock broking created substantial sell orders throughout eight SENSEX entities, constituting concerning 12.65 lakh shares.
• Varshney directed that Copthall and Mansi's impounded regarding ₹3 crore and more than ₹71 lakh respectively.
• The manipulation led to three spikes, and Copthall created substantial purchase orders, constituting at least 85% of all purchase orders created minutes before the SENSEX closed.
• Copthall pushed the IEP of SENSEX higher by placing aggressive purchase orders at +3%.
• SEBI determines a deviation from the average cost to be at a maximum of 3% in the CAS.

SEBI determines a deviation from the average cost to be at a maximum of 3% in the CAS. All of Copthall purchase orders were above this mark. Photo Credit: Reuters.

Hours after SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey cautioned CAS manipulators of strict consequences, the regulator issued an Ex-Parte interim order pulling up two investment and brokerage firms, for manipulating in Closing Auction Session (CAS) in SENSEX on August 13 2026, the expiry day.

For context, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) charged Copthall Mauritius Investment Limited and Mansi Share and Stock Broking Private Limited were charged a fine of ₹3.7 crore as they manipulated the markets during the newly introduced closing auction session to determine closing cost.

For context, the manipulation led to three spikes, and Copthall created substantial purchase orders, constituting at least 85% of all purchase orders created minutes before the SENSEX closed. Copthall simultaneously cancelled its latest purchase order. SEBI determines a deviation from the average cost to be at a maximum of 3% in the CAS. All of Copthall purchase orders were above this mark.

Similarly, Mansi stock broking created substantial sell orders throughout eight SENSEX entities, constituting concerning 12.65 lakh shares. More than seven lakh shares were placed at a cost of 2.5% below reference rate and 4.6 lakh share below 1%. These sell orders were then cancelled in 4 to 5 seconds, the order observed.

"Copthall pushed the IEP of SENSEX higher by placing aggressive purchase orders at +3%. They additionally contributed to 85% of the gross purchase value.Mansi pushed the IEP of SENSEX lower for certain time period of ~4 to 5 minutes by placing sell orders at rates much lower than reference rate and this downward pressure by Mansi was published when they cancelled their sell orders. According to It is, the two participants adopted opposite but highly aggressive price-impacting strategies during the same CAS session, " remarked SEBI WTM Kamlesh Varshney in the order.

"These large buy orders and large sell orders which were placed and then cancelled, allowed Noticees to avoid losses or wrongfully profit themselves from positions in derivatives trades that otherwise would have expired worthless, " SEBI observed in its preliminary findings.

Mr. Varshney directed that Copthall and Mansi's impounded regarding ₹3 crore and more than ₹71 lakh respectively. This applies to proprietary trading alone for Mansi. Both the entities are barred from trading in CAS in equity segment directly or indirectly. Notably, the bank accounts of the two noticees were to be frozen expect for the payment of penalty into the stipulated fixed deposit. SEBI additionally ordered that no debit shall be produced in the demat accounts without its approval. Besides directing the noticees to provide an inventory of all assets, have been asked to cose any open positions, three months from the receipt of the order. The noticees are given 21 days to respond to the interim order.

Taken together, the developments around SEBI fines two firms ₹3.7 crore for CAS manipulation point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.