Capital markets regulator Sebi on Thursday fined two individuals a total of Rs 45 lakh for insider trading in Deepak Fertilisers and Petrochemicals Ltd shares.

According to the order, the regulator has fined Naresh Ramniklal Mehta Rs 25 lakh and his wife Pallavi Naresh Mehta Rs 20 lakh and directed them to pay the fines within 45 days.

Sebi noted that Naresh is a director of Nishant Infin, which provides commercial services to Deepak Fertilisers and its subsidiaries. Also, Naresh is the cousin of Sailesh Mehta, General Manager of Deepak Fertilisers.

Therefore, it said that Naresh had reason to obtain information about Deepak Fertilisers.

According to the order, the Mehtas traded shares in Deepak Fertilisers while holding Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) related to the company’s financial results for the quarter that ended June 30, 2020.

“The noticees (Mehtas) bought shares relying on UPSI, expecting the stock price to rise when UPSI went public. After that, when UPSI finally went public, they sold almost all the shares they bought, making a profit due to the rise in stock price,” Sebi said.

During the investigation period from June 2020 to September 2020, Naresh and Pallavi made actual profits of Rs 12.4 lakh and Rs 8.5 lakh by trading shares in Deepak Fertilisers. The order said that the couple indulged in such trading violated insider trading regulations.