NSE co-location case: ED conducts searches at premises of brokers in Delhi, Gurugram

The Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches at brokers’ offices in Delhi and Gurugram in connection with the NSE co-location scam case. Around a dozen premises have been covered in this search by the central agency.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2018. The Central Bureau of Investigation has already arrested former CEO and MD at the bourse Chitra Ramkrishna and her advisor and former Group Operating Officer (GOO) Anand Subramanian in the case.

It was during Ramkrishna’s tenure that the co-location scam took place inside the exchange, as per the CBI. Brokers could place servers within the stock exchange premises to gain faster access to the markets using this co-location facility. Some brokers also allegedly abused the NSE algorithm and co-location facility to make windfall profits with insider support.

(With inputs from Munish Pandey; more details awaited)