The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has ordered three online platforms—Altgraaf, Tap Invest, and Stable Investments—to immediately stop offering services related to unlisted bonds.
The move comes as part of a broader investigation into regulatory breaches and potential fraudulent activities in the sector. In a notice issued on Monday, Sebi raised concerns over these platforms’ operations, citing non-compliance with its licensing norms.
Altgraaf, powered by AI Growth Private Limited, has been a major player in this space, facilitating the sale of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth over Rs 4,400 crore for 75 companies. Founded in 2021 by Vineet Agrawal and Sourav Ghosh, who are also behind the regulated fixed-income platform Jiraaf, Altgraaf reportedly used private placements to acquire NCDs before making them available to retail investors—a practice Sebi flagged as an attempt to bypass regulatory oversight.
Tap Invest, established in the same year, has raised approximately Rs 400 crore in NCDs for more than 100 companies. Backed by investors including QED Innovation Labs and Snow Leopard Capital, the platform has now come under scrutiny for similar practices. Meanwhile, Stable Investments, a Mumbai-based firm founded in 2022 by University of California, Berkeley graduate Kanishk Ranka, is also under investigation, with Sebi working to determine the exact amount it raised through its operations.
Sebi’s rules allow retail investors to purchase unlisted corporate bonds and NCDs only through entities registered as stock brokers under recognised exchanges. These are referred to as Online Bond Platform Providers (OBPPs). However, during its routine inspections, Sebi discovered that the three platforms lacked the necessary registrations. Its investigation further revealed that the platforms used a circuitous route, acquiring NCDs via private placements and later making them publicly available to investors.
The market regulator is now examining additional allegations of fraud involving these platforms, signaling that stricter action may follow.
