MUMBAI: Chitra Ramkrishna, former MD & CEO of NSE, the world’s largest derivatives exchange by contracts traded, claimed that she received guidance on professional and personal matters from a siddha purusha (spiritual force) to market regulator Sebi, which has show-caused her and her then advisor for allegedly sharing sensitive information about the country’s premier stock exchange with an unknown person.
The regulator in a final order late on February 11 barred Ramkrishna and her colleague from associating with any market infrastructure institution (stock exchange) or any intermediary registered with Sebi for three years. It also barred the IPO-bound NSE from launching any new product for six months from the order date, besides passing strictures against other former NSE officials.
During an investigation in the co-location case, which deals with the former NSE management, including Ramkrishna, allegedly granting preferential access to certain entities, Sebi stumbled on documentary evidence which allegedly showed Ramkrishna “shared certain internal confidential information of NSE viz. organisational structure, dividend scenario, financial results, human resources policy and related issues, response to regulator etc. with an unknown person by addressing her correspondence to an email ID rigyajursama@outlook.com.”
Her alleged role in the appointment of Anand Subramanian as chief strategic officer and his redesignation as group operating officer and advisor to the MD between 2013 and 2016, under guidance from the unknown person, described as dwelling in the Himalayan range, is also under scrutiny.
The Sebi order, which followed its investigation of anonymous complaints pertaining to Subramanian’s appointment, termed Ramkrishna’s contention that sharing of confidential information that included financial and business plans of NSE not having caused any harm, loss or prejudice to the market “absurd” and “questionable.”
“If such confidential and sensitive information of NSE could be blatantly, if not shamelessly, shared over official emails by Ramkrishna, one can only fathom how much more confidential information has been shared over private emails, phone or word of mouth,” notes the Sebi order.