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| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Sep 07, 2022, 09:36 AM IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Ravi Narain, who is the former CEO and Managing Director of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), in relation to a money laundering case and an illegal phone tapping scam against his employees.
According to the officials, ex-NSE chief Ravi Narain has been arrested in relation to a phone tapping and money laundering case linked to the bourse and is believed to have been arrested under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED had earlier arrested another former NSE MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in the alleged phone tapping case while the CBI, which is parallel probing these cases, had arrested her in the co-location case, as per PTI reports.
Who is ex-NSE CEO Ravi Narain?
Ravi Narain, who is being termed as one of the keys accused by the Enforcement Directorate in the stock exchange money laundering case, was an active part of the agency from 1994 to 2017, according to reports.
Narain was the managing director and chief executive officer of the exchange from April 1994 to March 31, 2013, and was later appointed as vice-chairman, in the non-executive category, on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) board from April 1, 2013, to June 1, 2017, when he resigned.
According to the ED, Narain had played a part in the “snooping of phone calls” by the NSE which were linked with a money laundering case. The prime accused in the phone tapping case is former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey, who was also arrested earlier this year.
Why was Ravi Narain arrested? All about the case
The role of former NSE chief Ravi Narain is being investigated by the federal probe agency as part of two criminal cases linked to the bourse - the alleged co-location 'scam' case and the purported illegal phone tapping of employees.
The “snooping of phone calls” has been linked to the NSE co-location scam, which is over a decade old now. The scam took place due to the market manipulations of the National Stock Exchange, which led to several players gaining market information ahead of everyone else, making them front runners in investments.
The ED had earlier told the court that "snooping of phone calls" at the NSE was being done from 1997 allegedly through a company helmed by Sanjay Pandey and his family members.
The CBI FIR registered on May 19 against Pandey's company, iSec Services, red flags several violations of the SEBI circular by the firm in conducting system audits of stock brokers involved in algorithmic trading using the co-location facility.
(With PTI inputs)
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