More Stories

Informist, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026

 

--SEBI dismisses disclosure norms breach, fraud allegations against Max Fincl

 

NEW DELHI – The Securities and Exchange Board of India Monday disposed of the proceedings initiated against Max Financial Services Ltd. without issuing any direction or imposing any penalty.

 

The case broadly examined whether Max Financial Services had failed to make adequate and timely disclosures regarding its agreement and arrangements with Axis Bank Ltd., Axis Securities Ltd., and Axis Capital Ltd., and whether the company had devised a fraudulent scheme to defraud shareholders of Max Financial Services and Max Life Insurance Co., according to the regulator. 

 

Viewed with the benefit of the evolved disclosure framework for listed entities, the disclosures made by Max Financial Services could have been more comprehensive and, in certain instances, a more cautious and consistent approach to disclosure may have been desirable, SEBI said. However, the conduct of Max Financial Services has to be tested against the legal requirements prevailing at the relevant time, it added. In the absence of material establishing violation of the specific provisions invoked in the show-cause notice, the disclosure-related charges cannot be sustained, SEBI said in its order.

 

In October 2022, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India had penalised Max Life Insurance and Axis Bank for violation of norms during transfer of shares. Axis Bank, which is the corporate agent as well as promoter of Max Life, along with its group entities had proposed in February 2020 to acquire 19% of the equity capital of Max Life. The regulator had received a proposal in March 2020 for restructuring the shareholding of the insurer. The insurer modified the plan several times in 7-8 months, before submitting a proposal in November that year for restructuring with three stages of transactions.

 

On allegations of fraud, SEBI said active concealment of material information by Max Financial Services has not been established. There is also no evidence of manipulation of price or volume, creation of an artificial market, or any other interference with market integrity.

 

The show-cause notice has neither established injury arising from alleged wrongful acts, including inducement to deal in securities, nor demonstrated such blatant conduct or attending circumstances that would establish a wrongful intention to defraud or manipulate the securities market. "Thus, the allegation that Max Financial Services, Max Life Insurance Company and Axis Bank along with Axis Securities and Axis Capital and other companies are liable for devising a fraudulent scheme to defraud the shareholders of Max Financial Services is not established," SEBI said.

 

In the absence of underlying disclosure-related violations or fraud being established against Max Financial Services, the charges against key managerial personnel of the company also cannot be sustained, the regulator said.

 

For the June quarter, Max Financial Services, holding company of Axis Max Life Insurance Ltd., had reported a consolidated net profit of INR 955.60 million, up 37% on year, on revenues of INR 149.70 billion. Monday, its shares ended at INR 1,569.80 on the National Stock Exchange, down 1% from Friday.  End

 

Reported by Vaishali Tyagi

Edited by Rajeev Pai

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (11) 4220-1000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.