Groww Invest Tech pays Rs 47.85L to Sebi, settles regulatory lapses case

Business Standard

14-05-2025

Groww Invest Tech on Wednesday settled a case pertaining to the alleged violation of stock brokers' rules and other norms after the online investing platform paid Rs 47.85 lakh towards settlement amount.
The order came after the broking company filed an application with Sebi "without admitting or denying the facts and conclusion of law", through a settlement order.
"In view of the acceptance of the settlement terms, the adjudication proceedings initiated against applicant vide SCN dated November 25, 2024 is disposed of," Sebi's Adjudicating Officer Amit Kapoor said.
The case stemmed from a comprehensive inspection of Groww Invest Tech (formerly Nextbillion Technology Pvt Ltd).
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) alleged that Groww had violated multiple provisions of the securities contracts (regulation), several Sebi circulars and stock broker regulations.
Among the lapses cited, the regulator observed that the applicant (Groww Invest Tech) had sent retention statement containing incorrect information to clients viz. discrepancy in financial ledger balance and margin obligation in 38 instances.
The markets watchdog also flagged Groww for offering non-securities services such as UPI payments and bill payments through its trading app, which could expose users to financial liability, the order said.
Further, Sebi found that Groww's Business Continuity Plan was being reviewed annually instead of the mandated half-yearly frequency.
Inadequacies were also noted in the firm's surveillance framework, particularly in analysing client trades based on financial capacity and updating income details, as per the order.
Thereafter, a show cause notice was issued by the regulator to Groww Invest Tech for the alleged violations on November 25, 2024.
Pursuant to the receipt of the settlement application, Groww filed revised settlement terms, which was cleared by Sebi.
After remitting the settlement fee of Rs 47.85 lakh, Groww settled the case with Sebi.
However, Sebi has reserved the right to reopen the case if it finds that the company did not make full disclosures or breached the settlement terms.
On Tuesday, Groww Invest Tech settled with markets watchdog Sebi a matter related to alleged failure to handle a technical glitch in January 2024 by paying Rs 34.12 lakh.