The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has banned five entities, including an employee of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), from trading in the securities market and confiscated their illicit proceeds of Rs 244 crore accumulated in front cases. Operate the business of insurance companies.

The five included Ved Prakash HUF, Sarita Garg HUF, Yogesh Garg, Sarita Garg and Kamlesh Agarwal, who worked in LIC’s investment arm. All were found to be linked by family ties, the regulator said in an interim order dated April 27.

In its investigation conducted from 2020 to 2022, SEBI found that Yogesh Garg, an employee of LIC, was leading the way in dealings with insurance companies. Astral, Havells India, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC and Bharat Dynamics are the stocks in question.

Using non-public information, Garg places his purchase order ahead of LIC. When LIC places a buy order, the stock price rises, and Garg sells the security he bought earlier, pocketing the difference.