New Delhi: In a shocking late-night move, market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has reportedly imposed an immediate suspension on one of its own General Managers in a “sensitive vigilance matter”, laying bare serious internal issues within the market watchdog’s Corporate Finance Department (CFD), according to a report by Business World.
According to official Office Order No. 08/2026 dated February 20, 2026, General Manager Achal Singh has been placed under immediate suspension under Regulation 86(1)(a) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Employees’ Service) Regulations, 2001, as disciplinary proceedings are being contemplated against him. Singh had earlier moved to SEBI from the Income Tax Department.
The order clearly prohibits the suspended General Manager from entering any office premises of the Securities and Exchange Board of India without prior written approval from the Chief General Manager, HRD. During the suspension period, he will be entitled to receive only a subsistence allowance.
The case revolves around C2C Advances Systems, the controversial SME IPO that even a former full-time member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India had reportedly attempted, unsuccessfully, to halt. Singh is accused of directly interfering in an ongoing investigation by the Corporate Finance Department (CFD) into C2C Advances Systems and of misusing his official position to allegedly extort money from the company.
SEBI’s top leadership has so far remained tight-lipped on the dramatic suspension.
