NSE co-location case: ED searches a dozen places

Searches were carried out across Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai and Chennai, said people in the know.

These included the residences of former NSE chief Chitra Ramkrishna and the premises of brokers in Delhi and Gurgaon.

The federal agency that probes money laundering had filed a case in 2018. It was based on a criminal case registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation, over allegations that the NSE provided unfair and preferential access for certain entities to its servers under the co-location set-up in 2012-14.

The people indicated that depending on the seizures, the agency could question Ramkrishna, who is currently in judicial custody. Ramkrishna was arrested by the CBI on March 8. Her alleged accomplice, former group operating officer at NSE Anand Subramanian, is also in Tihar jail. He was arrested on February 26. Ramkrishna and Subramanian have denied any wrongdoing.

According to the CBI, Subramanian had impersonated as a ‘Himalayan Yogi’ and influenced the decisions of Ramkrishna at the NSE. It is also claimed that Ramkrishna and Subramanian had together travelled to several tax havens including the Seychelles and Mauritius during their tenure at the stock exchange, and it is investigating these trips to examine whether they had gained any pecuniary advantage.

The ED is probing whether money was laundered by Ramkrishna and Subramanian. The CBI and ED are likely to send letters rogatory seeking information from countries where they believe alleged proceeds of crime are parked.