India's MidCap Stock Scam gets Murkier as High Flying Agri Stocks get Implicated

India’s Stock Market has been rocked by scandals in a number of midcap stocks which were the stars of the recent bull run.The series of scandals was started by LIC Housing Finance Scandal when top officials were caught taking bribes to provide loans to real estate and other low quality companies.PSU Bank Officials were also arrested in the case as an Indian Financier running a debt syndication firm proved to be nothing then a bribery front.After that come the SEBI barring a number of reputed and not so reputed companies like Welspun,Ackruti alongwith a stock market operator Dangi for rigging up the prices of the shares.This resulted in massive losses for the investors in these companies as stock prices fell by more than 20% in a matter of minutes.The arrest of uFlex MD yesterday sent shockwaves once again as the packaging sector took a huge hit once gain resulting in huge losses.

Now the Investigative Bureau (IB) has said that another stock market operator Rathod was colluding with promoters of agricultural companies like Ruchi Soya,Karuturi Global and KS Oils to rig stock prices.This was being done through various front companies and maverick investor C Shivasankaran was behind these moves.Note these companies have become the darling of brokerages and media being touted as the next big thing with vertical integration and acquisitions of agricultural land in Africa.The media hype that these companies got also makes one suspect that some of these firms were also involved in this scam.The Modus Operandi was again the same as followed by Dangi and Ashika group firms earlier.It remains to be seen if prosecution results in any jail time for any of these offenders.Generally nothing happens in corruption scandals in India as a SC Judge recently note that corruption had become a way of life.

Suspect rigging in Ruchi Soya, KS Oils, Karuturi Global: IB Report

The ongoing investigations by the Cental Bureau of Investigation into the stock market scam is getting murkier with more skeletons now tumbling out of the cupboard. A report on the Indian stock markets prepared by the Intelligence Bureau suspects that a market operator, Vimal Rathod was accumulating shares on behalf maverick investor C Shivasankaran based on insider information. The IB has passed on the information to the CBI and the market regulator, the Sebi for further action.

According to documents in possession with ET Now, Rathod was cornerning shares in KS Oils, Karuturi Global and Ruchi Soya on behalf of Shivsankaran. The report says “Rathod in conjunction with the promoters would buy the shares of Ruchi Soya from the open market via manipulative means and then engineer a fall in the share price. Rathod would then pick up a sizeable chunk of the shares from the market in the names of various front companies. The idea was to take the price to Rs 500 levels and then dispose off 26% stake to a strategic investor.