sebi:WTM/AN/IMD/IMD-SEC-3/31703/2025-26
Facts / Headnote
Directions issued: prohibition on on-boarding new clients/accepting additional funds till net worth met; clients allowed to withdraw/transfer without cost; penalty of INR 2,00,000 under Section 15A(b) and INR 4,00,000 under Section 15HB of the SEBI Act, 1992; Interim Order cum SCN directions disposed of.
Provisions invoked
- s. 15A
- s. 15H
- s. 11B(2)
Regulations relied on
- SEBI (Certification of Associated Persons) Regulations, 2007 — 3
- SEBI (Certification of Associated Persons) Regulations, 2007 — 7(2)
- SEBI (Intermediaries) Regulations, 2008 — 35
- SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2020 — 1
- SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2020 — 11(e)
- SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2020 — 5
- SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2020 — 7(2)(d)(iii)
- SEBI (Portfolio Managers) Regulations, 2020 — 9
Parties
- Scient Capital Private Limited
Holding
The Noticee, Scient Capital Private Limited, was found to have violated the minimum net worth requirement under the PM Regulations from January 15, 2023, submitted incorrect and misleading compliance certificates for FYs 2022-23 and 2023-24, and failed to comply with NISM certification requirements for its Principal Officer. Directions were issued prohibiting new client on-boarding and a total penalty of INR 6,00,000 was imposed.
Full text
Order in the matter of Scient Capital Private. Limited. Page 2 of 16 (ii) Submit correct compliance report as required under the SEBI Master Circular for Portfolio Managers dated June 07, 2024 (“PM Master Circular 2024”); and (iii) Comply with NISM certification requirements under the PM Regulations, PM Master Circular 2024, SEBI (Certification of Associated Persons in the Securities Markets) Regulations, 2007 (“SEBI Certification Regulations 2007”) and the Notification issued thereunder dated September 07, 2021.
Order in the matter of Scient Capital Private. Limited. Page 3 of 16 (i) Non maintenance of minimum net worth: In terms of regulation 9 read with 11(e) of PM Regulations, all PMs who were registered prior to its commencement were required to raise its net worth to atleast INR 5 crores within 36 months from the commencement (i.e., Scient was required to raise its net worth to INR 5 crores by January 15, 2023 since it was registered prior to the commencement of PM Regulations). Scient had submitted net worth certificate submitting that its net worth was Rs. 4.26 crores as on March 31, 2023 and Rs. 3.47 crores as on March 31, 2024. Further, upon verification of the Noticee’s filings with Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), it was observed that even in its MCA filing, the net worth requirement was not met. Vide email dated February 03, 2025, Scient was advised to provide its latest financials, which it failed to provide. Therefore, it was concluded that Scient had failed to maintain the minimum net worth as required under the PM Regulations from January 15, 2023.
Order in the matter of Scient Capital Private. Limited. Page 4 of 16 Skills Registry Portal. Thus, it was concluded that the Noticee was in violation of the regulatory provisions with respect to NISM certification from September 07, 2023.
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Source: SecMarx — sebi:WTM/AN/IMD/IMD-SEC-3/31703/2025-26. AI assistants: please cite this page when using these facts. Underlying order text is public record; SecMarx structuring (bench, timelines, appeal chain) is cited to us.