new Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested former National Stock Exchange (NSE) chief Chitra Ramakrishna in an alleged stock market manipulation case that involved sharing privileged information to a man whom he called a “Himalayan Yogi”, reports PTI.
CBI arrests former NSE CEO Chitra Ramakrishna in co-location scam: Officials
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) 6 March 2022
Officials said Ramakrishna was arrested in Delhi and taken for a medical checkup.
He told that later he was kept in lockup at the CBI Headquarters.
Officials said the CBI questioned Ramakrishna for three consecutive days and conducted searches at his residence. He said that she was not giving proper answer.
He said the central probe agency also used the services of a senior psychologist from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, who also interrogated him.
Officials said the psychologist had also come to the conclusion that the agency was left with no option but to arrest him.
His anticipatory bail plea was rejected on Saturday by a special CBI court, he said.
Officials said the CBI, which had been probing the co-location scam against a Delhi-based stock broker since 2018, swung into action after a Sebi report showed alleged abuse of power by the then top NSE officials. I.
On February 25, the CBI had arrested Anand Subramaniam, a former operating officer of the NSE group, after expanding its probe into the co-location scam in the exchange following “fresh facts” in a SEBI report that sought to guide Ramakrishna’s actions. Was referred to a mystical yogi.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on February 11 had accused Ramakrishna and others of alleged governance lapses in the appointment of Subramaniam as chief strategic advisor and his re-designation as group operating officer and advisor to the MD.
Subramaniam was reportedly referred to as a “yogi” in the forensic audit, but Sebi in its final report had dismissed the claim.
Ramakrishna, who replaced former CEO Ravi Narayan in 2013, had appointed Subramaniam as his advisor, who was later promoted as Group Operations Officer (GOO) on a hefty pay check of Rs 4.21 crore annually.
Subramaniam’s controversial appointment and subsequent promotion, apart from important decisions, was directed by an unidentified person whom Ramakrishna claimed was a formless mystical yogi living in the Himalayas, Ramakrishna during an audit ordered by SEBI. The investigation of email exchanges of
SEBI has imposed a penalty of Rs 3 crore on Ramakrishna, Rs 2 crore each on NSE, Rs 2 crore on Ravi Narayan, former MD and CEO of NSE and Rs 6 lakh on VR Narasimhan, who was the chief regulatory officer and compliance officer.
Ramakrishna left NSE in 2016.
(with PTI inputs)