With Anand Subramanian arrest, CBI just kicked open the NSE-Chitra Ramkrishna probe
Anand Subramanian, the consultant of ex-NSE Chief Chitra Ramkrishna, was arrested by the CBI on February 25 morning. Subramanian was appointed by Ramkrishna as a consultant, and then elevated to the Group Operating Officer of the NSE, on the advice of the unknown Himalayan sadhu.
NO MORE ANAND
The CBI questioned Anand Subramanian for three days this week, found digital evidence against him, and then arrested him this morning in Chennai. This is a continuation of the CBI's investigation that was carried out in the previous week, where they questioned ex-NSE Chiefs Ravi Narain and Chitra Ramkrishna. The CBI had conducted investigations and lookout notices were issued against Ravi, Chitra and Anand as part of this investigation. Income-Tax raids also followed as news of financial irregularities tumbled out and involved more agencies.
SO, WHO IS ANAND SUBRAMANIAN?
Anand Subramanian was personally appointed by Chitra Ramkrishna on April 1, 2013, as a Chief Strategic Advisor. Before joining NSE, he was the vice-president of a company that was into leasing and repairing, which was a subsidiary of Balmer & Lawrie.
Subramanian was re-designated as GOO and Advisor to MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna from April 1, 2015 till October 21, 2016. His unusual appointment drew attention later when he rose up the ranks quickly from Strategic Advisor to the Group Operating Officer. His quick rise, huge salary jumps, increasing travelling perks were known but not documented completely.
WEIRD SALARY STATS
Anand's initial package at the time of joining was Rs 1.68 crore despite the fact that his previous salary was only Rs 15 lakh per annum. By 2016, his compensation increased to Rs 4.21 crore, which is quite higher than most seniors at NSE.
Also, his working days increased from a mere 4-day working week to 5-day week, of which he was required to be in office for 3 days only. Since his home was in Chennai, he was allowed to travel to and fro every week in Business Class only. This indicates that he was quite a highly ranked person in the organisation.
OTHER PERKS
Anand's promotion and salaries were not tabled before the NSE's Nomination and Remuneration Committee (NRC) as required under the Companies Act. Though several heads reported to him, he was never classified as a key managerial personnel (KMP).
Since he was very close to Chitra, his office too was next to hers and he is known to have made several visits overseas, travelling first class. Also, his visa application mentioned him as a confirmed employee, despite him being a consultant.
THE BUBBLE BURSTS
The arrest of Anand Subramanian came as a consequence of an investigation into a different NSE case. In the original NSE scam case, certain private individuals and stockbrokers of NSE and SEBI officials were accused of preferential access to the NSE's server architecture and misuse of colocation facility.
While CBI was investigating this colocation case, the investigation revealed evidence that pointed to a different case altogether.
Weird facts about Chitra's unusual communication with an unknown Himalayan baba surfaced, which are now being investigated.
The officials found that not only had Chitra shared confidential information with this baba as he was 'spiritual' in nature and could guide her better, she had also appointed a person on his advice, the records of which were absent. This randomly appointed person was Anand Subramanian.
Going against multiple company and regulatory policies and practices, there were no HR records of any interviews, no advertisements shared for the appointment for his role nor were there any other people who were considered for the role, except him.
THE SEBI ORDER REVELATIONS
The SEBI order reveals the mails sent by Chitra to the baba, and the appointment of Anand Subramanian being done on the guidance of the baba.
The SEBI order also reveals that Anand's wife Sunitha was also appointed as a consultant at NSE's Chennai Regional Office for April 1, 2013 to March 31, 2014, at an annual CTC of Rs 60 lakh. This is weird because Anand too was appointed as a Chief Strategic Advisor at Rs 1.68 crore per annum remuneration on the same day. During April 2014 to March 2015, Sunitha's pay went up to Rs 72 lakh and then to over Rs 1 crore.
The next year, Sunitha's contract was renewed for over Rs 1.15 crore. Subsequently, her contract for the year starting April 1, 2016 was renewed for over Rs 1.33 crore. However, Sunitha closed the contract on December 31, 2016.
As more details come in, more people are expected to be arrested.