Ajay Tyagi, the outgoing chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), had a piece of advice for his successor Madhabi Puri Buch, who took charge on Wednesday. “No day is a dull day here. I was telling Madhabi whosoever is the new chairperson will feel the challenges and that is the way the capital markets are.”
Tyagi told reporters that the regulator acted as per its remit and understanding on the NSE case, which brought to light the connection between an “unknown person” and the exchange’s former CEO Chitra Ramkrishna. He denied that there was any attempt to dilute the order. Legal experts say that since NSE was not a listed company, there was no specific violation with reference to sharing sensitive information with a third party by key management persons.
Tyagi said: “We really had nothing to hide. Sebi tried in earnest to investigate the matter.” The comment from the former chairman comes in at a time when the regulator was criticised for its order in the NSE case. Tyagi said that the NSE co-location case was a complex one and that the regulator came out with orders as per its understanding.
The market regulator, in its order dated February 11, had highlighted that Ramakrishna, former MD & CEO, NSE, had passed sensitive information related to the exchange to some ‘unknown spiritual person’. Following this, then group operating officer of NSE, Anand Subramanian, was arrested by the CBI on February 25.
The outgoing chairman mentioned that other enforcement agencies are looking into the matter and they have their own mandate. “We should wait for the investigation of other agencies as well,” he said. Tyagi further asserted that the market regulator is sharing all required information with other agencies and further cooperating on the matter.