Hindustan Times ST (Mumbai) - Live
CBI files charge sheet against ex-NSE CEO Chitra Ramkrishna
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against Chitra Ramkrishna, former chief executive officer of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and Anand Subramanian, the bourse’s then group operating officer (GOO), in connection with a co-location fraud case, people familiar with the development said.
The charge sheet was filed in the court of special CBI judge Sanjeev Aggarwal in Delhi, naming the two for allegedly providing preferential and unfair access to NSE’s trading system to Delhi-based stock broker OPG Securities Pvt Ltd and its owner, Sanjay Gupta to the detriment of others. Ramkrishna was arrested by CBI on March 6 while Subramanian was arrested on February 25.
The charge sheet further alleged that key information such as NSE’s organisational structure, dividend scenario, financial results, human resources policy, response to regulator, and future projects were sent to an email ID, rigyajursama@outlook.com, between 2013 and 2016. A probe is underway to ascertain who the email ID belongs to.
A Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) report on February 11 said that a “mysterious Himalayan yogi” was guiding the actions of Ramkrishna. The CBI, however, is yet to conclude if Subramanian is that yogi.
The co-location fraud case
A SEBI REPORT ON FEBRUARY 11 SAID THAT A “MYSTERIOUS HIMALAYAN YOGI” WAS GUIDING THE ACTIONS OF RAMKRISHNA.
surfaced in 2015 after a whistleblower alleged that some NSE members were making gains by getting early access to the stock market trading system (because their servers were located in the exchange’s premises), in collusion with some exchange officials. The fraud is believed to have taken place between 2010 and 2014. The CBI case was registered in 2018.
Sebi, the stock market regulator, probed the fraud which, along with the circumstances surrounding Subramanian’s appointment and remuneration, forced Ramkrishna’s resignation. Ramkrishna’s legal team did not respond to text messages seeking a response.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) also recently renewed its money laundering probe in the NSE scam and questioned some former senior officers of the bourse.