Vedanta ordered to pay Cairn UK $9.4m for delayed dividends

NEW DELHI, Mar 13 (Reuters): Indian mining group Vedanta must pay 776 million Indian rupees ($9.4 million) to Cairn UK Holdings for a delay in paying dividends, India's markets watchdog said on Tuesday.

The order on the website of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said Vedanta must make the payment within 45 days or face further action.

SEBI also barred Vedanta directors, including vice-chairman Navin Agarwal, from India's securities markets for two months.

The regulator in its order said that Vedanta, formerly known as Cairn India, had violated Indian laws by withholding dividends that should have been paid to the British company between January 2014 and June 2017.

Vedanta sees no major financial impact on the company due to SEBI's order, the miner said in a statement.

"The company is in process of taking appropriate legal steps in respect of the same," Vedanta added.