Home / Business and Economy / Consulting Giants Accused in Yes Bank Insider Trading
Consulting Giants Accused in Yes Bank Insider Trading
23 Jan
Summary
- SEBI accuses PwC and EY executives of insider trading.
- Carlyle and Advent execs allegedly shared price-sensitive info.
- Unlawful gains by trading Yes Bank shares before July 2022 offering.
Market regulator SEBI has reportedly accused current and former executives from PwC and EY, as well as individuals associated with private equity firms Carlyle Group and Advent International, of breaching insider trading rules. These allegations are connected to a 2022 share sale by Yes Bank.
The SEBI notice, issued in November, alleges that seven individuals traded Yes Bank shares based on unpublished price-sensitive information, while four others are accused of sharing such data. This occurred ahead of a July 2022 share offering where Carlyle and Advent acquired a 10% stake for $1.1 billion.
SEBI claims that PwC and EY executives failed to maintain confidentiality and adequate compliance processes. Specifically, EY allegedly failed to implement a sufficiently broad restricted list for its employees, and PwC lacked a restricted stock list for advisory clients. These lapses allegedly allowed some individuals to trade Yes Bank shares before the capital raise.
Both PwC and EY have not yet responded to requests for comment, and there has been no official announcement from SEBI. The individuals and firms named are reportedly preparing their responses to the show cause notice, which is the initial step in SEBI's investigation process.
