Meridian Capital Markets IFSC Ltd ('Meridian'), a registered Capital Market Intermediary ('CMI') operating at GIFT City IFSC, engaged Pillai, a practising advocate with over two decades of securities law experience, to c

As per Regulation 25 of IFSCA (Capital Market Intermediaries) Regulations, 2021, a Capital Market Intermediary (CMI) must have an annual audit conducted in respect of compliance with the regulations by a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India or a member of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India or any person authorised to conduct audit in a Foreign Jurisdiction. A copy of such compliance audit report for a financial year must be furnished to the IFSCA by the 30th of September of such year. However, a trading member, a clearing member and a depository participant also file a copy of such report to the recognised stock exchange, recognised clearing corporation and depository, as the case may be. A CMI must have additional audits and submit such reports as may be specified by the IFSCA from time to time. In view of the above, Meridian Capital Markets IFSC Ltd. has committed three distinct compliance lapses: Ineligible Appointment: Appointing a practicing advocate i.e. Pillai instead of a CA, CS, or CMA violates the prescribed compliance auditor categories under Regulation 25. Delayed Filing: Pillai submitted the audit report to IFSCA on October 15, 2025 which was beyond the statutory deadline of 30 th September. Filing Omission: Being a trading member, a copy of compliance audit is to be filed with the recognised stock exchange, which is not filed by Meridian.