Chitra Ramkrishna arrested, know why she was called 'Queen of the Bourses'

 Ramkrishna has had an illustrious career and was once hailed as the 'queen of the bourses'. She was awarded 'Forbes Women Leader of the year' in 2013.

Chitra Ramkrishna arrested, know why she was called 'Queen of the Bourses'

former National Stock Exchange (NSE) CEO Chitra Ramkrishna was arrested by the CBI in the co-location scam case. The case is getting merkier by the day with new developments cropping up everyday. Former National Stock Exchange (NSE) group operating officer (GOO), Anand Subramanian was arrested a week ago in the same case.

Chitra Ramkrishna has had an illustrious career and was once hailed as the 'Queen of the Bourses'. She has been among the select few women leaders at the helm of leading stock exchanges around the world. However, her career got marred when she became headlines for all the wrong reasons.

According to SEBI, Chitra Ramkrishna had been allowing an unidentified Himalayan yogi to advise her on important decisions for the past 20 years. It went on to say that she was influenced by the 'yogi' even in the appointment of Anand Subramanian as NSE's group operating officer and advisor to the managing director.

Read | CBI arrests former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in NSE co-location scam

Who is Chitra Ramkrishna?

Chitra holds a degree from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, UK, and is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). 

 

She was the third woman to head an exchange in the Asia-Pacific region after Sri Lanka's Colombo Stock Exchange and China's Shenzhen Stock Exchange. 

She completed chartered accountancy at the age of 21 and joined the Industrial Development Bank of India in 1985 as assistant manager in charge of capital markets.

In the 1980s, Chitra Ramkrishna was involved in the drafting of the legislative framework of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

Chitra Ramkrishna was appointed joint managing director of National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 2009 and promoted to chief executive officer (CEO) in 2013.

Prior to quitting the NSE, Chitra Ramkrishna was the second-highest paid executive in the financial services industry in the finacial year 2016.

Chitra Ramkrishna's salary that year was second only to Aditya Puri's, the then managing director of HDFC Bank, who took home Rs 9.7 crore.

Ramkrishna has served various operational and strategic aspects of NSE for many years during her roles as Deputy and Joint Managing Director. 

With Chitra at the helm, NSE's daily average turnover, including both cash and derivatives, doubled to Rs 3.5 trillion, from Rs 1.6 trillion in the three-and-a-half years.

Chitra Ramkrishna was awarded 'Forbes Women Leader of the year' in 2013. Fortune India termed her as the 'most powerful woman in India's securities market'.

What is the controversy?

In February 2022, the Securities and Exchange Board of India charged Chitra Ramkrishna and other NSE officials for alleged governance lapses.

It included violating securities contract rules in the hiring of Anand Subramanian as the chief strategic advisor and re-designation as GOO and advisor to MD.

Ramkrishna had shared certain internal confidential information, including financial and business plans of NSE, with the Himalayan yogi, SEBI accused.

SEBI also went on to accuse that Chitra Ramkrishna had even consulted the Himalayan yogi over the performance appraisals of the exchange's employees.

 Chitra Ramkrishna and Group Operating Officer and her Advisor Anand Subramanian ran a money-making scheme during their stint at the NSE.

 

SEBI said Ramkrishna failed to maintain the highest standards of personal integrity, truthfulness, honesty and fortitude in discharging her duties.

She was accused of engaging in acts discreditable to her responsibilities as MD and CEO of NSE by acting arbitrarily and misusing her delegated powers.

CBI arrests former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in NSE co-location scam

The 190-page order also faulted Ramkrishna for running the exchange at the behest of a mysterious yogi.

Reported By:DNA Web Team| Edited By: DNA Web Team |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Mar 07, 2022, 07:10 AM IST

CBI arrests former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna in NSE co-location scam 

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday arrested the former managing director and chief executive officer of National Stock Exchange (NSE) Chitra Ramkrishna in Delhi in connection with the co-location scam case. 

On Saturday, a Delhi court had refused to grant anticipatory bail to Ramkrishna. A CBI team called Chitra for questioning and later she was arrested. She will be produced before a competent court on Monday. 

On February 25, Anand Subramanian, former Group Operating Officer and advisor to Chitra Ramkrishna, was arrested by CBI in Chennai. Earlier, the Securities and Exchange Board (SEBI) has slapped a penalty of Rs 3 crore on Chitra Ramkrishna in the co-location case.

The 190-page order also faulted Ramkrishna for running the exchange at the behest of a mysterious yogi. The market regulator SEBI called it "bizarre misconduct" and a "glaring breach" of regulations. The term 'co-location' refers to a setup in which the broker's computer is located in the same area as the stock exchange's server. 

There are allegations of preferential access to the trading system to a few. 

(Agency report)