After CBI, ED set to seek custody of Chitra Ramakrishna and her 'Himalayan Guru'

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is going to seek custody of Chitra Ramakrishna and Anand Subramanian in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) co-location scam. This even as the two former senior executives of NSE continue to remain in the custody of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) since March 7.

The ED has already conducted searches at offices of three stock brokers in Delhi and Gurgaon last week in connection with the NSE case.

"Searches were at nine premises of three brokers and Rs 3.15 crore cash was seized. Besides cash, digital devices and mobile phones were also seized. ED is enquiring on how the money was collected through a secondary server," a government official said.

The ED had also earlier attached assets worth Rs 39.19 crore of a Delhi based stock broker OPG Securities Pvt Ltd for making gains by getting early access to the stock market trading system, said sources.

In the co-location facility offered by the NSE, brokers could place their servers within the stock exchange premises giving them faster access to the markets. The CBI has alleged in its FIR that some brokers abused the algorithm and the co-location facility in order to make illegal windfall gains.

A FIR in the NSE co-location scam was registered in 2018 for the alleged commission of offences under section 204 and 120B of the Indian Penal code as well as violation of the provisions of the Information Technology Act and Prevention of Corruption Act.

Also read: NSE co-location case: Court extends Chitra Ramkrishna’s custody till April 11