Sunil Lulla is fined Rs 50 lakh by Sebi for breaking market standards.

Written by: Supriya Kadu

Edited by: Pinky Deshmukh

Last Updated: November 04, 2024

Summary: Sunil Lulla was prohibited by SEBI from serving as a director or other important manager of any publicly traded firm.

Sunil Arjan Lulla, the promoter and former MD of Eros International Media, was fined Rs 50 lakh by capital markets regulator Sebi for violating regulatory standards.

Sebi issued an interim decision in June 2023 that restricted five businesses from the securities markets, including Eros International and its Managing Director (MD), Sunil Lulla, in a case involving potential fund diversion based on prima facie findings.

SEBI has also banned Sunil Lulla from serving as a director or other key manager of any listed business, including Eros, its subsidiaries, or any intermediary registered with Sebi until further notice.

Sunil Lulla filed an appeal against Sebi's interim order with the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). But in August 2023, the court confirmed the regulator's order and in October 2023, it confirmed the ban.

It was noted that Sunil Lulla has not yet resigned from his position as director of Eros International Media, had not followed Sebi's instructions, and had allegedly disregarded the order of the adjudication proceedings that the regulator had started about him.

On April 22, 2024, the regulator then sent Sunil Lulla a show-cause notice. In this new order, Sebi asked Sunil Lulla to resign from his director position, effective July 31, 2024.

This demonstrates Sunil Lulla's resistance. As a result, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) stated in its order on October 30 that he was not in compliance with the regulator's rule from June 2023 to July 2024.

Sebi says it is serious when someone in his position disregards the guidelines issued by the securities market regulator. Sunil Lulla's behavior was disrespectful to the regulator, which is inappropriate for someone in his position.

Sebi fined 17 organizations a total of Rs 2 crore on October 29 for failing to cooperate with the probe and for failing to submit timely and accurate data on Eros International Media Ltd. It levied a ₹12 lakh fine on each of 17 businesses.

The case centers on alleged financial irregularities and poor management of contracts between Spicy Entertainment & Media Ltd. (SEML), Eros International Media Ltd. (EIML) and other associated companies.