Market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has banned vice-chairman and joint managing director, First Global, Shankar Sharma from dealing in securities for one year on allegation of manipulation of shares of some companies in 2001, leading to decline in credibility of stock exchange and erosion of investor's confidence.

The regulator found him guilty of fictitious trades during early 2001, which caused substantial variations in share prices of Zee Telefilms, Wipro, Satyam, MTNL, SBI and Infosys Technologies. He allegedly gave false orders for purchase and sale of securities without intimating actual owners of securities.

SEBI also expressed concerns over irregular pattern of trading through Bang Equity and First Global and said, "These trades were nothing but fictitious trades and involved no change in beneficial ownership. Therefore, these created appearance of artificial market and distorted price discovery process in the exchange."

Commenting on the development, Mr. Sharma said, "The SEBI order has no legal bearing, since we had already obtained an advance stay on any SEBI order from the Bombay High Court, fearing something like this. We plan to appeal to SAT (the Securities Appellate Tribunal) against the SEBI order."