High-profile BSE brokers behind rumours: ICICI

Mumbai, Oct 13: A Mumbai-based brokerage house along with a Tirupur sub-broker and a group SMS-sending website were associated in sending malicious rumours about weak financial liquidity of ICICI bank through SMS. These rumours had slashed down the ICICI share prices and the bank had to unsettle its depositors. ICICI Bank, on Sunday, Oct 12 filed a police complaint in Coimbatore and Mumbai. The Bank stated that a bear cartel of certain high-profile BSE brokers, who have been actively selling the bank"s shares for quite sometime, may have also been behind the rumours.

The bank suspected that the group SMS website www.smsgroupshup.com and another Kerala-based entity called Maya News were active in spreading incorrect information and inducing investors to sell shares.

The Mumbai-based brokerage with which the Tirupur sub-broker is associated with is Motilal Oswal. When contacted, Motilal Oswal director Ajay Menon said: “We have not received any official communication from ICICI or the police, and we are not aware of any such SMS." Brokerage chairman Motilal Oswal said: “We have always been always been positive on the ICICI scrip".

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