Indian information technology services major Infosys Technologies has fined one of its independent directors, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, a leading entrepreneur, for selling company shares during market hours without permission.
In a regulatory stock exchange filing Infosys has accused Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director (CMD) of India’s leading biotechnology firm Biocon Limited, of inadvertently selling 1,600 shares of the company during open trading without seeking prior permission to execute such a trade.
According to Infosyx corporate governance regulations, key management personnel and directors have to seek permission before executing any trade in company shares during market hours.
Infosys clarified that though the trade was carried out by the portfolio manager without the knowledge of Mazumdar-Shaw, this was a violation of the company’s Insider Trading Policy and the Sebi (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015, Business Standard reports.
The matter was brought to the notice of Infosys’ compliance officer on February 13, following which it was examined by its audit committee with a submission from Mazumdar-Shaw. The committee concluded that the trade was an inadvertent one without any intention to violate the insider trading norms.
It has imposed a penalty of 950,000 rupees (US$13,399) on the Biocon CMD, which will be donated to a charitable organization of her choice.
Hi, I read through your post. I did have a question though I think you could answer. Do you know if insder trading is the same thing as a trading scheme? I’ve heard you can be accused of insider trading even if you don’t know you’re doing anything wrong. Thanks in advance for your answer.