TMC's Mahua Moitra Labels Rekha Jhunjunwala's Nazara Stake Sale As Insider Trading, Slams Sebi

Trinamool Congress' (TMC)Member of Parliament, Mahua Moitra has raised allegations of insider trading against Rekha Jhunjhunwala a prominent stock market investor and wife of ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. Moitra also slammed the Securities Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for not looking into the matter.

What Has Mahua Moitra Alleged

The TMC MP raised the allegations in a post on the social media platform X. She also reposted a post by RedBox, which mentioned details of Rekha Jhunjhunwala reducing her stake in Nazara Technologies ahead of the Online Gaming Bill being greenlit in the Parliament.

"This is insider trading. Pure & simple. In the US, SEC would do full investigation including subpoenas, phone & digital records. In India, Bhakts applaud while @SEBI_India sleeps. And no - I am not going to live in the US," Moitra said in a post.

What Is Insider Trading

Sebi's Prohibition of Insider Trading (PIT) Regulations, 2015, state that insider trading refers to the fraudulent practice of trading the securities of a company by an insider who possesses unpublished price sensitive information (UPSI). The market regulator prohibits the buying and selling of securities on the basis of UPSI. Additionally sharing UPSI with outsiders by insiders or people privy to the UPSI is also banned.

Through her allegation, Moitra indicated that Jhunjhunwala was likely to have known about the Online Gaming Bill 2025 being greenlit and took the exit, anticipating the negative impact the bill would have on the stock's price. Outlook Money has not been able to verify the allegations against Rekha Jhunjhunwala independently.

Notably the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015, were put in place to ensure that investors have a level playing field, maintain market integrity and protect the interests of investors.

Rekha Jhunjhunwala's Stake Sale

Rekha Jhunjhunwala inherited her late husband Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's stock portfolio after he passed away in 2022. Jhunjhunwala originally inherited shares comprising nearly 10 per cent in Nazara Technologies according to data routed from Trendlyne.

As per Redbox Global India's post, Jhunjhunwala sold her entire stake (nearly 7 per cent) comprising 61.8 lakh shares for Rs 334 crore at an average price of Rs 1,225 per share.

As per data routed from Trendlyne, Jhunjhunwala has been paring her stake in Nazara Technologies since June 2023. Jhunjhunwala reduced her stake to 9 per cent in December 2023, 8.5 per cent in March 2024 and 8.4 per cent in June 2024.

In September 2024, Jhunjhunwala's holdings declined to 8.1 per cent and in March 2025, her stake was reduced to 7.1 per cent. Since Jhunjhunwala had been constantly reducing her stake prior to the recent sale, it is possible that the move was a strategic exit or a part of a larger portfolio rebalancing activity.

Why Did Nazara's Shares Decline

Nazara Technologies shares have witnessed strong selling pressure in the last five sessions since the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, was first introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 20. The stock has extended losses for the past five sessions and has tanked 20 per cent to trade at Rs 1,106 apiece on the NSE.

The stock declined as the newly passed regulation seeks to ban real-money online games. The company has clarified in an exchange filing dated August 20 that while it has a stake in Moonshine Technologies Private Ltd (PokerBaazi), the revenue from the real money gaming company does not get added to its reported revenue and EBITDA.

"The Company's only indirect exposure to RMG is through its 46.07 per cent stake in Moonshine Technologies Private Limited (PokerBaazi). As Nazara does not hold a majority stake or exercise control, Moonshine's revenue is not consolidated in the Company's financial statements and has no impact on the Company's reported Revenue or EBITDA," Nazara Technologies said.

Despite the clarification the stock declined due to mounting investor concerns regarding the online gaming space. This in turn led to a selling spree across several stocks amid regulatory uncertainty relating to online gaming. Shares of other companies which operate in the online gaming space such as Delta Corp also witnessed significant declines.

Major Investors Shaken By Nazara's Share Dip

Several public figures hold a significant stake in Nazara Technologies Ltd. As per data from the Trendlyne website ace investor Madhusudan Murlidhar Kela holds 10,96,305 shares of the company or 1.18 per cent stake as of June 2025.

Zerodha Co-founders Nikhil Kamath and Nitin Kamath also hold 1.62 per cent shareholding or 15,04,782 shares in Nazara Technologies through Kamath Associates. Given their significant shareholding, these investors are likely to have lost a significant sum of money amid Nazara Technologies' five-session losing spree.,

It remains to be seen whether the ace investors will go with the flow of the market and pare their stake or hold on to it till investor sentiment regarding the stock changes.