The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday passed a settlement order on Paytm Money against a showcause notice to the company for violating its directions on technical glitch framework. Paytm Money has paid Rs 45.5 lakh to settle the allegations.

On July 24, 2024, Sebi had issued a showcause notice to the stock broker for violating the following:

(a) Not setting the permissible limit of 70% for generation of timely alerts for all critical assets, (b) Not submitting the documentary evidence w.r.t  peak load observed for the inspection period, (c) Not connecting all its critical systems with Log Analytics and Monitoring Application, and 

(d) Not conducting live DR drill for half year April 2023 -September 2023.

In the settlement order, Sebi said, “Pending Adjudication Proceedings, the Noticee proposed to settle the instant proceedings initiated against it, without admitting or denying the findings of facts and conclusions of law, through a settlement order and filed settlement application dated September 17, 2024 with SEBI in terms of the provisions of SEBI (Settlement Proceedings) Regulations, 2018.”

Paytm Money is a wholly-owned subsidiary of One97 Communications Limited (OCL).

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In other news, Paytm Money announced the appointment of Rajeev Krishnamuralilal Agarwal as an additional Non-Executive Independent Director on its Board. Agarwal will also serve as a member of the Audit Committee as well as  the Chairperson of the Risk Management Committee and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee at Paytm Money.

Rajeev Krishnamuralilal Agarwal brings more than 40 years of valuable experience, including a 28-year tenure with the Indian Revenue Services. During his time as a Whole-Time Member of SEBI, he played a pivotal role in driving key market reforms, including the revival package for the mutual fund industry in 2012 and the landmark merger of the Forward Markets Commission with SEBI in 2015, the company said in a statement. 

In addition to his role as a Non-Executive Independent Director on the Board of Paytm Money, Agarwal currently serves on the board of One97 Communications (Paytm) as well. 

Rakesh Singh, CEO, Paytm Money, said, “Our mission is to democratize access to financial markets and simplify the investment journey for millions of Indians. Having made significant strides in enhancing our governance framework, we continue to innovate and expand our investment offerings. With Shri Agarwal’s deep expertise in governance and risk management, we are confident that his guidance will further strengthen these efforts and drive long-term, sustainable growth.”