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Sebi knows whom youre calling,
Sandeep Pai l Mumbai
There is nothing private about your telephone calls. For, Sebi has been tracking your calls for the past five years without the governments permission.
The reason? The Securities and Exchange Board of India feels there is nothing wrong with obtaining call records data (CDR), even if it amounts to breach of privacy.
So, every call you make, Sebi will be watching you to prevent stock exchange frauds. You are of course not alone. Companies too are under the Sebi scanner.
Documents with DNA show the central government has denied Sebi permission on numerous occasions.
Copies of correspondence between Sebi and the home and finance ministries from 2008 to 2010 show Sebis desperation to be included in the list of law enforcement agencies, which are authorised to seek CDR from licenced service providers.
Both ministries have clearly refused Sebi. But Sebi is unwilling to give up easily. Recently, the regulatory bodys chairman sought permission, citing how important it was to track calls in connection with stock frauds. Though permission was denied, Sebi continued to pressurise telecom service providers (TSP).
DNA has a copy of a letter, dated April 12, 2012, by Amit Kumar Chauhan, assistant director general, telecom enforcement resources & monitoring cell, to the Sebi chairman, which says: It has been brought to the notice of this office that CDRs are being obtained by Sebi from the TSPs from time to time. It is therefore requested to provide details of the CDRs obtained... from January 2006 onwards...
The agencies, which are authorised to obtain CDRs, are: the director general or the commissioner of police at the state level; the IB; the DG of the narcotics control bureau; the DGs of the enforcement and the revenue intelligence directorates; the DG of the central economic intelligence bureau; the DGs of the CBI; the national investigation agency; member (investigation) of the central board of direct taxes; and the directorate of signal intelligence under the defence ministry for J&K, the North-east and Assam.
A query under the RTI Act revealed that SEBI had collected the CDRs of at least 2,327 subscribers between January 2009 and July 2010, reported moneylife.
Just 14 days before the RTI reply, SEBI had told the RTI applicant that it had obtained CDRs of only 13 people. They tried to suppress the numbers because they are not authorised to obtain CDRs, a senior official with a leading telecom service provider said.
In fact, SEBI obtained the CDRs of 1,774 subscribers by just writing letters to telecom operators. The official said TSPs can do little because the companies are registered with SEBI. It is difficult to say no, he said.
In the same period, CB Bhave, who was the chairman of SEBI, wrote numerous letters to various ministries seeking permission. Notwithstanding the fact the government has always refused permission, Bhave said it was crucial to examine call records of a person or a company suspected of fraud for effective and prompt investigation.
In a letter, dated December 16, 2009, AK Sinha, the under secretary in the finance ministry, told the SEBI chairman (Bhave) that the regulatory body could take the help of agencies that are authorised to obtain CDRs
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What do you think about a NSA type low-profile organization which will help Sebi save its neck and legalize CDRs ? We do have a good base to create a TRANSLTR
Sandeep Pai l Mumbai
There is nothing private about your telephone calls. For, Sebi has been tracking your calls for the past five years without the governments permission.
The reason? The Securities and Exchange Board of India feels there is nothing wrong with obtaining call records data (CDR), even if it amounts to breach of privacy.
So, every call you make, Sebi will be watching you to prevent stock exchange frauds. You are of course not alone. Companies too are under the Sebi scanner.
Documents with DNA show the central government has denied Sebi permission on numerous occasions.
Copies of correspondence between Sebi and the home and finance ministries from 2008 to 2010 show Sebis desperation to be included in the list of law enforcement agencies, which are authorised to seek CDR from licenced service providers.
Both ministries have clearly refused Sebi. But Sebi is unwilling to give up easily. Recently, the regulatory bodys chairman sought permission, citing how important it was to track calls in connection with stock frauds. Though permission was denied, Sebi continued to pressurise telecom service providers (TSP).
DNA has a copy of a letter, dated April 12, 2012, by Amit Kumar Chauhan, assistant director general, telecom enforcement resources & monitoring cell, to the Sebi chairman, which says: It has been brought to the notice of this office that CDRs are being obtained by Sebi from the TSPs from time to time. It is therefore requested to provide details of the CDRs obtained... from January 2006 onwards...
The agencies, which are authorised to obtain CDRs, are: the director general or the commissioner of police at the state level; the IB; the DG of the narcotics control bureau; the DGs of the enforcement and the revenue intelligence directorates; the DG of the central economic intelligence bureau; the DGs of the CBI; the national investigation agency; member (investigation) of the central board of direct taxes; and the directorate of signal intelligence under the defence ministry for J&K, the North-east and Assam.
A query under the RTI Act revealed that SEBI had collected the CDRs of at least 2,327 subscribers between January 2009 and July 2010, reported moneylife.
Just 14 days before the RTI reply, SEBI had told the RTI applicant that it had obtained CDRs of only 13 people. They tried to suppress the numbers because they are not authorised to obtain CDRs, a senior official with a leading telecom service provider said.
In fact, SEBI obtained the CDRs of 1,774 subscribers by just writing letters to telecom operators. The official said TSPs can do little because the companies are registered with SEBI. It is difficult to say no, he said.
In the same period, CB Bhave, who was the chairman of SEBI, wrote numerous letters to various ministries seeking permission. Notwithstanding the fact the government has always refused permission, Bhave said it was crucial to examine call records of a person or a company suspected of fraud for effective and prompt investigation.
In a letter, dated December 16, 2009, AK Sinha, the under secretary in the finance ministry, told the SEBI chairman (Bhave) that the regulatory body could take the help of agencies that are authorised to obtain CDRs
---------------------------------------------------
What do you think about a NSA type low-profile organization which will help Sebi save its neck and legalize CDRs ? We do have a good base to create a TRANSLTR
