SEC charges four Indian brokerages with registration violations

A broker reacts while trading at a stock brokerage firm in Mumbai February 7, 2008.

REUTERS - Four Indian financial services firms agreed to pay nearly $2 million to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges it provided brokerage services to U.S. institutional investors without being registered, the regulator said on Tuesday.

The SEC said Ambit Capital Private Ltd, Edelweiss Financial Services Ltd, JM Financial Institutional Securities Private Ltd, and Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd engaged with U.S. investors by sponsoring conferences, having employees travel to the United States to meet investors and in other ways.

The brokerages agreed to pay more than $1.8 million in total to settle the charges, the regulator said.

Motilal Oswal, one of the largest Indian brokerages, will pay about $820,000, Edelweiss will pay about $568,000, JM Financial will pay $443,000 and Ambit will pay about $31,000.

"These four firms and all other foreign broker-dealers must educate themselves on the U.S. laws and regulations when they provide services to U.S. investors." Scott W. Friestad, associate director of the SEC's division of enforcement, said in a statement.

(Reporting by Jochelle Mendonca; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)