Former NSE top executive Anand Subramanian is the 'mysterious yogi', confirms CBI sources

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Former NSE Group Operating Officer Anand Subramanian, who was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation earlier on February 25, was the mysterious Yogi who guided the actions of former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna, CBI sources have said, reported CNBC-TV18.

As per the sources, Subramanian was the person who had created the e-mail ID ‘rigyajursama@outlook.com’, which Chitra Ramkrishna used to use to transfer NSE's confidential information from rchitra@icloud.com.

The CBI had arrested Anand Subramanian after expanding its investigation into a co-location scam in the National Stock Exchange following the emergence of “fresh facts” in a Sebi report that referred to a mysterious yogi guiding the actions of former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna.

Ramkrishna, who succeeded former CEO Ravi Narain in 2013, had appointed Subramanian as her advisor who was later elevated as Group Operating Officer (GOO) at a fat pay cheque of Rs 4.21 crore.

NSE Scam: Insiders speak of a savvy Chitra Ramakrishna and a closely knit trio, dismissing the ingenue story

Subramanian's controversial appointment and later elevation besides crucial decisions were guided by an unidentified person who Ramkrishna claimed was a formless mysterious Yogi dwelling in the Himalayas, a probe into Ramkrishna's email exchanges during the Sebi-ordered audit showed.

An audit report allegedly referred to Subramanian as a mysterious yogi, but it was dismissed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in its report on February 11, the CBI said. Ramakrishna had left the NSE in December 2016.

Years later, the SEBI charged former NSE CEO Ramkrishna and others with alleged governance lapses in the appointment of Subramanian as the chief strategic advisor and his re-designation as group operating officer and advisor to MD. A fine of Rs 3 crore was levied on Ramkrishna, Rs 2 crore each on NSE, Subramanian, former NSE MD and CEO Ravi Narain, and Rs 6 lakh on V R Narasimhan, who was the chief regulatory officer and compliance officer.

The CBI, which was probing the co-location scam since 2018 against a Delhi-based stockbroker, swung into action after the Sebi report which showed alleged abuse of power by the then top brass of the NSE, the officials said.