NEW DELHI: A day after the arrest of one of its former fund manager Viresh Joshi by the enforcement directorate on allegations of front-running, the Axis Mutual Fund has clarified that the proceedings of the recent investigation by ED on a former employee bear no connection to the AMC’s current operations, and that investors’ investments with the AMC remain unaffected.
“We would like to assert that none of the search or seizure actions involve any of Axis AMC’s offices, branches, or premises. This matter pertains entirely to the alleged actions of an individual, whose employment was terminated by us in May 2022 following a suo moto investigation, and does not reflect on the current operations or investment processes of Axis AMC,” said the asset management company in a statement issued on Monday.
It further said that as a responsible institution, it has taken necessary measures to strengthen its lines of defences with regards to business operations and control functions.
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has arrested Viresh Joshi, the former fund manager of Axis Mutual Fund, in connection with a multi-crore front-running scam that allegedly defrauded investors between 2018 and 2021. The arrest follows widespread search operations conducted on August 1st and 2nd, 2025, across multiple cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, and Kolkata.
The ED's investigation, initiated based on a December 2024 FIR from Mumbai Police, alleges that Joshi exploited his position to engage in "front-running," an illegal practice where an individual uses confidential, advanced knowledge of client orders to trade stocks for personal profit. According to the ED, Joshi allegedly used a trading terminal in Dubai and a network of "mule trading accounts" to execute these illicit trades, cheating investors of Axis Mutual Fund, which manages assets worth over ₹2 lakh crore.
Initial findings from the ED's probe reveal that the total proceeds of crime generated by Joshi and other traders and brokers involved in the scheme could exceed ₹200 crore.