Amid a major crackdown on alleged leak of classified official documents at the behest of corporates, Sebi is looking into whether such leaks were used to push up or pull down the share prices of listed companies. Depending on the progress of the inspection, which involves analysing trading and share price trends in a host of energy companies including some large players from private as well as public sector, further action would be initiated by the regulator, a senior official said here.
Those found to have traded on the basis of stolen information from government offices could be probed under insider trading as well as prevention of fraudulent and unfair trade regulations and would be subjected to stern penal action by Sebi, he added. Sources said that suspected foul play in some of these stocks is already under investigations, which were launched after the stock exchanges and Sebi came across media reports concerning undisclosed developments about them while resulting in huge movements in their share prices.