Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Ex-boss of India’s largest stock exchange arrested over mystic scam

Ex-boss of India’s largest stock exchange arrested over mystic scam

A FORMER chief executive of India's National Stock Exchange has been arrested, officials said Monday (7), in a bizarre corporate misgovernance scandal featuring a supposed Himalayan yogi.

Chitra Ramkrishna - a high-flying executive once feted as the "queen of the bourse" - allegedly took business advice from a mystic throughout her 2013-2016 tenure at one of the world's largest derivatives exchanges.

She was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation, India's equivalent of the FBI, in Delhi late Sunday (5), a senior officer said.

Spiritual leaders and "godmen" have long enjoyed vast followings in India and the business world is no exception in the highly religious nation of 1.4 billion people.

A 190-page report released by regulators last month revealed damning details of how Ramkrishna, 59, shared sensitive information with a spiritual adviser she supposedly met by the River Ganges.

The former boss of India's largest stock exchange "had abdicated all her powers to the unknown person" and "was merely a puppet in his hands", regulators said in the report, without identifying the yogi.

Last month, federal police arrested Ramkrishna's former protege Anand Subramanian, whom she hired and later promoted on an astronomical salary - despite him having no relevant experience - allegedly on the advice of the yogi.

The scandal began in 2015 with allegations of market manipulation, with brokers said to have been given preferential access to the bourse.

Both executives resigned from the National Stock Exchange the following year.

NSE's board concluded based on an E&Y forensic audit that Subramanian had in fact invented the yogi to manipulate Ramkrishna for personal gain.

The CEO maintained in her statements to the markets regulator that her adviser was a "spiritual force" and their informal interactions were akin to those with a coach or mentor.

The yogi "would manifest at will and I did not have any locational coordinates", she told officials. "Accordingly, he gave me an (email) ID to which I could send my requests."

Emails uncovered in the probe show the yogi proposed meetings in Seychelles, one of several tax havens including Singapore and Mauritius where investigators are probing possible tax evasion.

A special lift was reserved for Ramkrishna and Subramanian at the NSE and a dedicated team ensured he had separate hand towels and soap dispensers in the toilet, according to press reports.

Both former executives are barred by authorities from leaving India or accessing financial markets.

(AFP)

More For You

Jio Platforms

Jio Platforms includes India’s largest telecom operator, Reliance Jio Infocomm, with more than 500 million users. (Photo: Reuters)

Reuters

Jio IPO planned for mid-2026, AI unit announced with Meta and Google

RELIANCE Industries plans to take its telecom and digital arm, Jio Platforms, public by mid-2026, chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Friday. The announcement sets a new timeline for the long-awaited IPO of a business analysts value at over $100 billion.

At its annual general meeting (AGM), Reliance also announced the launch of an artificial intelligence unit in partnership with Google and Meta.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asda tech overhaul

Asda sales fell 0.2 per cent in the three months to June 30, 2025 (AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Asda boss hails tech overhaul as key to revival despite sales slump

THE chairman of Asda has admitted the supermarket chain still faces challenges after sales slipped again over the summer, but said the completion of a major IT overhaul was crucial for its recovery.

Allan Leighton told the Times that the long-delayed technology project, called Project Future, had finally been finished after years of setbacks and costs exceeding £1 billion. The work involved separating more than 2,500 systems inherited from former owner Walmart, following Asda’s 2021 takeover by TDR Capital.

Keep ReadingShow less
JLR-Getty

A logo is pictured outside a Jaguar Land Rover new car show room in Tonbridge, south east England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

UK car exports to US rebound after trade deal

UK VEHICLE exports to the United States rose in July after a new trade deal between London and Washington reduced tariffs, industry data showed on Thursday.

According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), exports increased 6.8 per cent in July to nearly 10,000 units, following three consecutive months of decline.

Keep ReadingShow less
Relatives of jailed Briton appeal to UK minister in AgustaWestland row

Christian Michel

Relatives of jailed Briton appeal to UK minister in AgustaWestland row

THE family of Christian Michel, the British businessman accused of acting as a middleman in the AgustaWestland VVIP helicopter deal, has appealed to the UK government to push for his release from Delhi’s Tihar Jail.

Michel’s relatives met Foreign Office minister Catherine West in London on Tuesday (26). The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said the minister listened to their concerns and updated them on ongoing steps being taken.

Keep ReadingShow less
Blackburn loses Issa empire as brothers move EG Group to US

Zuber and Mohsin Issa (Photo: LDRS)

Blackburn loses Issa empire as brothers move EG Group to US

ASIAN entrepreneurs Mohsin and Zuber Issa are moving the headquarters of their global forecourt company, EG Group, from Blackburn to the US in preparation for a major stock market listing in New York.

The firm confirmed that its main office will relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina, while a new base in Bolton, Greater Manchester, will handle its remaining UK operations, the Telegraph reported. The change brings an end to almost 25 years of the company being run from Blackburn.

Keep ReadingShow less