The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has barred Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company (AMC) from launching any new fixed maturity plan (FMP) scheme for the next six months, as per an order issued by the markets regulator on August 27.
SEBI, which examined the case of delayed payments made in these six FMP schemes to their unit holders in 2019, has also decided to impose a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the company.
The order will come into force with immediate effect, SEBI said. It added the order was passed after the markets regulator noticed the investors of certain FMPs, launched by the Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund, were not paid their full proceeds based on the declared Net Asset Value (NV) of the said schemes as on their respective maturity dates.
“The Noticee is directed to complete the exercise of payment of funds to the respective unitholders and submission of compliance report to the abovementioned authority within a period of 45 days from the date of this order,” the markets regulator said in its order.
SEBI also asked Kotak AMC to pay the penalty “within 45 days from the date of service of this order.”
Kotak AMC has also been directed to refund a part of the investment management and advisory fees collected from the unitholders of the six FMP schemes, it said.
The collected amount should be equivalent to the percentage of exposure to the ZCNCDs of the Issuers in the respective schemes as on the date of maturity of the six FMP schemes, “along with a simple interest at the rate of 15% per annum from the date of maturity of such scheme still the date of actual payment to the respective unitholders of the said schemes,” the order added.
