New Delhi

Capitalmarkets regulator Sebi on Thursday eased the onboarding process for foreign portfolio investors by allowing them to submit a digitally signed power of attorney to their custodians.

Under the revised rule, an FPI can give a Power of Attorney (PoA) to its custodian specifying its address and execute the document by using a digital signature in accordance with the provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, Sebi said. A Power of Attorney is a document through which a foreign portfolio investor (FPI) authorises its custodian to act on its behalf.

For an FPI, a custodian is a financial institution that safely holds and manages investors’ securities and assets. They also act as designated depository participants to process FPI registrations, clear trades, manage settlements, and report compliance to regulators.

This eliminates the need for notarisation, apostillisation or consularisation of the Power of Attorney, thereby reducing the overall time taken for FPI onboarding and improving ease of doing business for FPI applicants, it added. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) said the move is part of its continued efforts to digitalise the FPI onboarding process.

Over the years, Sebi has introduced several measures in this direction, including a Common Application Form (CAF) for FPI registration, PAN, bank and demat accounts, permitting Indian digital signatures for executing CAF and other registration documents, digital signatures functionality within the CAF portal and granting registration based on scanned copies. The provisions of this circular will come into force with effect from August 20, 2026, it said.

Mumbai

Marketsregulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has alleged that Dhenu Buildcon Infra Limited used a network of connected entities to repeatedly circulate a base amount of Rs 25 crore, creating the appearance that the company had received Rs 1,000 crore in genuine unsecured loans.

The allegations were made in an interim order passed by SEBI Whole Time Member Kamlesh Chandra Varshney. According to the regulator, the alleged arrangement was orchestrated by Surendra Kumar Jain and Virendra Jain and involved Dhenu Buildcon and several entities connected to the company.

SEBI said that during FY25, Dhenu Buildcon purportedly received Rs 1,000 crore in unsecured loans from seven entities. The company subsequently converted Rs 840 crore of the purported debt into equity through a preferential allotment to six of these entities in December 2025.

However, an examination of the bank accounts of the entities allegedly involved in the transactions showed that the purported Rs 1,000 crore inflow was created by repeatedly layering and circulating a single base amount of Rs 25 crore through the accounts of connected entities, SEBI alleged.

The regulator further alleged that the initial Rs 25 crore itself originated from suspicious fund rotations involving other connected entities. Based on its analysis of the fund trail, SEBI said it had prima facie concluded that the purported loans were not genuine transactions. Consequently, the regulator alleged that the Rs 840-crore preferential allotment was made without genuine financial consideration. SEBI also identified several links between Dhenu Buildcon, the entities shown as lenders and preferential allottees, and other entities that received funds from the company. These links included common addresses, directors, authorised signatories and bank branches, along with extensive cross-shareholdings.