NSE co-location scam: Delhi court sends Chitra Ramkrishna to 14-day judicial custody 

Delhi court on Monday sent the former MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chitra Ramkrishna to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the co-location case, news agency ANI reported.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) also revealed that Ramkrishna had misused her official position to re-designate Anand Subramanian as Group Operating Officer and Advisor to MD from April 1, 2015 without bringing this to the notice of NRC and the board.

The central probe agency also revealed that substantial powers akin to MD were also delegated to Subramanian, thereby, making him privy to important and confidential information related to the working of NSE.

Meanwhile, it was also learnt that Ramkrishna has moved bail plea before CBI court.

Earlier this month, CBI has also claimed that the e-mail ID through which the ‘mysterious yogi’ guided former NSE MD and CEO was allegedly created by the former Group Operating Officer Anand Subramanian.

The agency is also probing Subramanian and Ramkrishna’s visit to Seychelles, which finds mention in the email exchanges between Ramkrishna and Yogi, the agency told a special CBI court.

The prosecution also noted, “Anand is very influential and there is every possibility that he might flee. He thought that he will hide under the guise of Himalayan yogi but he got caught. Being the Chief Operating Officer and principal advisor, he was the main advisor to Chitra.”

On February 11, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) charged Ramkrishna and others with alleged governance lapses in the appointment of Anand Subramanian as the chief strategic advisor and his re-designation as group operating officer and advisor to MD.

Ramkrishna got elevated as MD and CEO on April 1, 2013 and left the exchange in 2016. It was during this period that co-location was started by NSE, as per the CBI.

As part of co-location facility offered by the NSE, brokers could place their servers within the stock exchange premises, giving them faster access to markets. It is alleged that some brokers in connivance with insiders abused the algorithm and the co-location facility to make windfall profits.

(With inputs from Aneesha Mathur and agencies)