"Please Do Not Believe..., Maria And My Knowledge About Stocks Are Zero": Arshad Warsi Replies After SEBI Ban

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New Delhi: Actor Arshad Warsi and his wife Maria Goretti have landed in trouble. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reportedly banned several entities, including Arshad, Maria, YouTuber Manish Mishra, and promoters of Sadhna Broadcast - Shreya Gupta, Gaurav Gupta, Saurabh Gupta, Pooja Aggarwal, and Varun Media - from the securities market in a case related to uploading misleading videos on YouTube channels recommending investors to buy the company's shares.

According to the interim order, Arshad Warsi made a profit of Rs 29.43 lakh, Maria Goretti earned a profit of Rs 37.56 lakh. However, Arshad took to Twitter and requested everyone not to believe in hearsay.

He also mentioned that he and his wife lack knowledge of the stock market. "Please do not believe everything you read in the news. Maria and my knowledge about stocks are zero, took the advice and invested in Sharda, and like many others, lost all our hard-earned money," he tweeted.

Please do not believe everything you read in the news. Maria and my knowledge about stocks is zero, took advice and invested in Sharda, and like many other, lost all our hard earned money.  Arshad Warsi (ArshadWarsi) March 2, 2023

The investigation began after SEBI received complaints alleging that certain entities were engaging in price manipulation and offloading shares of Sadhna Broadcast Ltd and Sharpline Broadcast Ltd.

In addition to market ban, the regulator has impounded illegal gains to the tune of Rs 54 crore made by the entities after misleading videos were uploaded on YouTube channels, according to two separate interim orders.

In the case of Sadhna Broadcast, Sebi noted that Arshad Warsi has made a profit of Rs 29.43 lakh and his wife has earned profit of Rs 37.56 lakh. Also, Iqbal Hussain Warsi has gained Rs 9.34 lakh. These three among others have been classified as volume creators by the capital markets regulator.

The two orders came after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) received certain complaints wherein it was alleged that there was price manipulation and offloading of shares by certain entities in the scrip of television channel Sadhna Broadcast and New Delhi-based Sharpline Broadcast.

The complaints alleged that misleading YouTube videos with false content about the two companies were uploaded to lure investors.