ED revives its probe into NSE fraud case
THE AGENCY IS ALSO PREPARING TO TAKE CUSTODY OF FORMER NSE CEO CHITRA RAMKRISHNA
NEW DELHI: Reviving its money laundering probe into the National Stock Exchange (NSE) co-location fraud case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) last month questioned former chief executive officer (CEO) Ravi Narain and two former chief technology officers (CTOS) Umesh Jain and Ravi Apte, people familiar with the matter said.
The agency on Friday conducted multiple raids in Delhi and Gurugram in connection with its money laundering probe into case. It is also preparing to take custody of former NSE CEO Chitra Ramkrishna and former group operating officer (GOO) Anand Subramanian who were arrested on March 6 and February 25, respectively, by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with its 2018 probe into the alleged stock market manipulation.
“The law enforcement agency summoned Narain, who served as managing director (MD) and CEO of NSE from 1994 to 2013, Apte, who served as CTO from 2007 to 2012 and Jain who was the CTO between 2012 and 2015 for questioning at its headquarters last month, besides several other officers, to understand the lapses in functioning of the exchange,” one of the persons cited above said, seeking anonymity. While Narain did not respond to HT’S calls, Jain refused to comment on the ED probe. Apte could not be located for a comment on the matter.
In the co-location case registered by CBI in 2018, the central probe agency booked a Delhibased stock broker OPG Securities Pvt Ltd and its owner, Sanjay Gupta, for allegedly making gains by getting early access to the stock market trading system. ED was also probing unidentified officials of markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and the NSE, Mumbai
On February 11, Sebi charged Ramkrishna with alleged governance lapses in the appointment of Subramanian as the chief strategic advisor and his re-designation as group operating officer and advisor to MD.
The ED has been probing the case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) since January 2019 on the basis of the CBI’S 2018 first information report (FIR).