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Synopsis

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in its ongoing efforts to crack down on financial influencers, has recently debarred Mohammad Nasiruddin Ansari from the market who owns the firm 'Baap of Chart,' which provides financial advice on buying and selling securities.

The market regulator initiated an investigation against Ansari after finding that he was, prima facie, providing stock recommendations (buy/sell) through social media using the name "Baap of Chart" ("BoC"), disguising it as educational training related to the securities market through Twitter and Telegram.

SEBI discovered that Ansari was providing investment advisory services without the necessary SEBI registration via social media, thereby violating the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Investment Advisers) Regulations, 2013.

Additionally, he was promoting himself as a stock market expert on various social media platforms, enticing investors and clients to enrol in his various "educational courses" while promising them nearly guaranteed profits if they followed his recommendations or advice.

Ansari's YouTube channel, "Baap of Chart," boasts 4.43 lakh subscribers, while his Telegram group, "Baap of Chart Option Hedging," has 53,000 members. His Instagram and Twitter accounts have 59,000 and 78,000 followers, respectively.

SEBI discovered that Ansari had accumulated a total of Rs. 17.2 crore from January 2021 to July 2023. He accomplished this by enticing clients and investors with misleading or false information, persuading them to purchase his courses and workshops, adding them to exclusive groups, and influencing them to deal in the securities market.

While barring Ansari from the securities market, SEBI stated that the showmanship in the trailer videos seemed to create an illusion of unnatural returns.

“The theatrics and showmanship in the trailer videos on YouTube issued by Md. Nasir/ BoC appear to be aimed at creating illusion of unnatural returns by drawing in gullible and uninformed viewers to join his ‘classes’ thereby inducing them to trade in the securities market,” the order states.

Along with Ansari, the market regulator named four other individuals: Asif Iqbal Wani, Tabraiz Abdullah, Mansha Abdullah, and Vamshi Jadhav, who were also allegedly involved in unregistered investment advisory activities.

The regulator has directed these individuals to deposit Rs. 17.2 crore in a scheduled commercial bank and has specified that no money should be withdrawn without SEBI's permission