The Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Court on Tuesday directed the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police to investigate the involvement of former Forward Markets Commission (FMC) Chairman Ramesh Abhishek in the Rs 5,600 crore National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL) crisis.
The court has asked the EOW to submit its report within 40 days.
Court orders an impartial probe
The special court under the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (MPID) Act said in its order of May 12 while allowing the plea, directed that the investigating official carry out fair and impartial investigation into the role of Ramesh Abhishek, who was chairman of FMC at the time of the offence. It also directed that the report after conclusion of the probe be submitted to it within 40 days of the order.
No action taken against defaulters and brokers
The accused had claimed in the application that FMC only initiated action against NSEL and its parent and absolutely no action was taken against defaulters and brokers. Further, the EOW Mumbai also failed to investigate its chairman for his deliberate inaction, the accused claimed.
Court considered the plea but denies leniency
While Judge AS Sayyad considered the plea, the order made it clear that it does not mean that the court is going to form any adverse opinion against the former chairman. It further considered the plea of the officer and stated in the order that there are some suspicious acts and omissions appearing on the part of the then chairman of FMC at the relevant time and in its opinion are required to be investigated by way of further investigation.
NSEL SCAM
The NSEL crisis was a major financial scam that came to light in July 2013. The scam involved the exchange defaulting on payments to its investors. The scam is estimated to have caused losses of Rs 5,600 crore to investors.
The EOW has already filed a chargesheet against several people in connection with the NSEL scam. However, the chargesheet did not name Ramesh Abhishek.
The NSEL had filed an application in the MPID Court seeking a direction to the EOW to investigate the role of Ramesh Abhishek in the scam. The NSEL had alleged that Abhishek had failed to take action against the exchange when he was the chairman of the FMC.
The MPID Court has now accepted the NSEL's application and directed the EOW to investigate the role of Ramesh Abhishek in the NSEL scam.
The investigation by the EOW is likely to shed light on the role of Ramesh Abhishek in the NSEL scam. The investigation is also likely to help the authorities to recover the money that was lost by the investors.