OnePaper Research Analysts Private Limited, a SEBI-registered research analyst firm based in Bengaluru, has been fined Rs 30 lakh for mis-selling, fraudulent trade practices and violations of the regulator’s advertisement code.
The adjudication order, passed on June 16, 2026, lays out a compliance picture that SEBI found difficult to reconcile with a firm operating at scale. During a surprise inspection in March 2024, the regulator found that OnePaper employed around 100 sales executives to serve roughly 6,730 clients, while having just two registered research analysts on its rolls.
Caught On A Live Call
The inspection team, present at the Bengaluru office, randomly asked an employee named Sarita Pattanayak to make a call to a prospective client. On that live call, the employee assured the client of good returns if they subscribed to OnePaper’s services. The compliance officer initially told inspectors she would share call recordings, then informed them the firm did not maintain any.
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WhatsApp chats submitted by complainants on SEBI’s SCORES portal filled in the rest. Screenshots showed sales staff advising clients to hold Bank Nifty positions, adjust stop-loss levels and take on additional lots, with explicit promises to recover losses in subsequent trades. None of these employees held NISM research analyst certifications.
Policies On Paper, Nothing On The Ground
OnePaper’s defence rested largely on its internal SMS policy, which mandated that research recommendations be sent only via SMS. The firm argued that WhatsApp messages were sent without its knowledge, on employees’ personal phones, and in some cases only because SMS delivery had failed.
SEBI rejected this. The adjudicating officer noted that having written policies without mechanisms to enforce them amounted to little more than paperwork. The firm had processed a partial refund to at least one complainant, which the order said indicated it was aware of what its employees were doing.
The Rs 30 lakh penalty comprises Rs 10 lakh under Section 15EB of the SEBI Act for regulatory non-compliance, and Rs 20 lakh under Section 15HA for fraudulent and unfair trade practices. SEBI noted the firm had previously been penalised for RA regulation violations.
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