The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned financial influencer Mohammad Nasiruddin Ansari from the securities market.
The capital market watchdog took action against the well-known “finfluencer” for providing unregistered investment advice under the guise of investor education across several social media platforms including WhatsApp, Telegram, X and YouTube.
The SEBI also ordered a refund of his unlawful gains by imposing a penalty of INR172 million, allegedly equivalent to the amount he accumulated over two years through fraudulent investment advice.
Promoting himself as a stock market expert, Ansari allegedly lured investors to enrol in various self-run “educational courses” and induced them to invest in the securities market with promises of high assured returns “with near certainty if the recommendation/advice is followed”.
Contrary to his claims of providing strategies that would result in sizeable and assured profits, Ansari incurred a net loss of INR28.9 million trading in the stock market during two years from January 2021 to July 2023, according to the SEBI’s investigation.
Ansari and his affiliates were directed to desist from acting or promoting themselves as investment advisers and have been barred from dealing in securities, either directly or indirectly.
This is not the first time that the SEBI has cracked down strongly against the large community of unregistered investment advisers making recommendations on social media platforms.
Earlier this year, the watchdog settled an investigation against finfluencer PR Sundar, who had a million subscribers on YouTube. He was banned from participating in the securities market for one year for allegedly providing daily stock investment/trading recommendations without the necessary registration from the SEBI.
SEBI chair Madhabi Puri Buch warned that 35% of advisers had not registered with the watchdog, cautioning the public to stay clear of unqualified finfluencers.
