Amid Row Over 'Consulting a Yogi,' I-T Raids Premises of Ex-NSE CEO Ramkrishna

Chitra Ramakrishna was recently in the headlines for sharing confidential information related to NSE with a 'yogi'.

Chitra Ramkrishna

(Photo: The Quint)

The Income Tax department on Thursday, 17 February, raided the residence of former MD and CEO of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chitra Ramkrishna in Mumbai.

The raids come in the backdrop of the recent order of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) that penalised the NSE and Ramakrishna for sharing confidential information with a 'yogi' and allegedly taking his advice on crucial decisions related to the NSE's functioning.

Ramakrishna was the CEO and MD of NSE from 2013 to 2016.

The 'Yogi' Controversy

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has penalised the NSE and Ramkrishna over violations in security contract rules and lapses in the hiring procedure for senior-level appointments.

A fine of Rs 3 crore has been imposed on Ramkrishna, Rs 2 crore each on the NSE and Narain, as well as Rs 6 lakh on V R Narasimhan, who had been serving as the chief regulatory officer and chief compliance officer.

As per a SEBI order dated 11 February, Ramkrishna had allowed her decisions to be swayed by a "spiritual force" during her tenure. As a fallout, former group operating officer and advisor to the MD, Anand Subramanian, who had allegedly been an associate of the 'yogi,' had drawn unjustified gains during Ramkrishna's tenure.

“Ramkrishna stated that the third person was not Mr Subramanian; (but) the results of the forensic investigation conducted by EY (asked by Sebi and commissioned by NSE) concluded that the person using the email ID ‘[e-mail]’ was Mr Subramanian himself," the SEBI order stated.

The order further stated that no confidential information of NSE was disclosed to an unknown entity, but to the Group Operating Officer (GOO), who anyway had access to financial, operational and HR related information about NSE.