Sebi on Tuesday fined PNB Finance and Industries Ltd, Camac Commercial Company Ltd and various other entities totalling Rs 356.7 crore, including promoters Samir Jain and Meera Jain, who were also banned from the securities market.

In addition to the market ban, Samir Jain and Meera Jain are also barred from holding any key management positions or being associated with any public company. According to the two orders, the restrictions will remain in effect until the two companies meet the minimum public shareholding requirement under Sebi norms.

Public companies must have at least 25% public shareholding.

According to Sebi, the two companies did not disclose their promoter entities adequately. Companies listed on the Calcutta Stock Exchange must also disclose their promoters’ details.

Samir Jain was, at the relevant time, Deputy Chairman and Managing Director of Bennett Coleman and Co Limited (BCCL), while Meera Jain was a full-time director of BCCL.

Regarding PNB Finance and Industries Ltd (PNBFIL), six entities have been banned from the securities market. Samir Jain, Meera Jain, Ashoka Viniyoga Ltd, Artee Viniyoga Ltd, Camac Commercial Company Ltd and Combine Holding Ltd, according to a 96-page order.

PNBFIL was fined Rs 12 crore, while Samir Jain, Meera Jain, Ashoka Viniyoga Ltd, Artee Viniyoga Ltd, Camac Commercial Company Ltd and Combine Holding Ltd were each fined Rs 1.41 crore. Also, a fine of Rs 39 lakh was slapped by Trishla Jain.

Further, Sameer Jain and Meera Jain are “debarred from holding the office of director or holding any key managerial position or associating themselves in any capacity with any listed public company and any public company which is public or intends to raise funds from an intermediary registered with SEBI” unless the company complies with the minimum public shareholding norms.

In the case of Camac Commercial Company Limited (CCCL), the regulator has banned eight entities from the securities market. They are Samir Jain, Meera Jain, Ashoka Viniyoga Ltd, Artee Viniyoga Ltd, PNB Finance and Industries Ltd, Combine Holding Ltd and Punjab Mercantile and Traders Ltd.

CCCL was fined Rs 11 crore, and Samir Jain and Meera Jain Rs 1.41 crore. In addition, Ashoka Viniyoga Ltd, Artee Viniyoga Ltd, PNB Finance and Industries Ltd, Combine Holding Ltd and Punjab Mercantile and Traders Ltd were each fined Rs 20 lakh.

Similar to the directions in the PNBFIL case, the two individuals must not hold any key management positions or be associated in any capacity with any public company until the minimum public shareholding norms are complied with.

In the order against PNBFIL, Sebi said the entities “jointly maliciously misled that the company was a professionally run company without a promoter”.

It added that despite understanding, the Jain family is, in fact, the de facto promoter of the company as they, directly and indirectly, hold 91.51% of the total equity interest in the company.

In his order against CCCL, Sebi said the company, Samir Jain and Meera Jain, “jointly and maliciously misrepresented that the company had no individual promoter and was run by a group of seemingly unrelated corporate entities, none of whom was in a dominant position”.

The order comes after Sebi received complaints alleging non-compliance with various provisions of the Securities Act, including non-compliance with minimum public shareholding norms and false disclosure of promoter holdings by certain companies such as Arth Udyog Ltd, Ashoka Viniyoga Ltd, Ashoka Marketing shares) Ltd, PNB Finance and Investments Ltd and Camac Commercial Company Ltd.