India's securities market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has issued an interim order against Dhenu Buildcon, citing prima facie concerns over an alleged round-tripping of funds, CNBC-TV18 reported on August 19, 2026.

According to the interim findings, ₹25 crore was circulated repeatedly through transactions, creating the appearance of ₹1,000 crore in unsecured loans.

What the interim order says

SEBI has alleged that the same pool of ₹25 crore was rotated in a circular manner so that it returned, in effect, to its point of origin. Each rotation added to the apparent volume of unsecured loans, which the order says produced the appearance of ₹1,000 crore in such borrowings.

The concerns have been flagged at the interim stage, meaning they represent the regulator's preliminary assessment rather than a final adjudication of fraud.

For a company whose shares trade on an exchange, the credibility of such figures is significant: reported borrowings feed into how investors and analysts gauge leverage and financial health, so questions over whether loan entries reflect genuine transactions bear directly on the reliability of public disclosures.

Background

Round-tripping, as a general financial practice, refers to routing funds through a series of entities or accounts so that the money ultimately returns to its source. The technique can create the appearance of substantial financial activity — such as loans, revenue, or capital inflows — without genuine underlying transactions.

Unsecured loans are advances extended without collateral, meaning their recorded value depends entirely on the disclosures and creditworthiness of the counterparties involved. Circular fund flows of this kind have surfaced in earlier Indian enforcement matters, where layered transactions among connected entities were alleged to have inflated loan or revenue entries on company books.

SEBI, established under the SEBI Act, 1992, is the statutory regulator of India's securities markets, with a mandate to protect investors and ensure orderly market conduct. Under its enabling provisions, including Sections 11 and 11B of the SEBI Act, the regulator may issue interim directions where it deems them necessary in the interest of investors or the securities market, pending the completion of investigations or other proceedings. Findings recorded in such interim orders remain subject to further process, and affected parties are ordinarily given an opportunity to respond before final conclusions are drawn.

Accordingly, the developments now open for the company are procedural: a response to the interim findings and SEBI's eventual final order, which will determine whether the prima facie concerns are upheld, modified, or set aside after the parties have been heard.

Dhenu Buildcon (Dhenu Buildcon Infra Ltd) is tracked as a listed stock on CNBC-TV18's market pages.

Source: CNBC-TV18 Markets