Mumbai police files charge sheet against brokers in NSEL default case

Mumbai police has filed a voluminous charge sheet in the National Spot Exchange (NSEL) default case against 63 accused, including 27 individuals, and 36 companies. The names include brokers for the first time, especially those whose executives were arrested in the past in this case.

NSEL, a spot trading exchange promoted by Financial Technologies (now 63 Moons Technologies), defaulted about Rs 56 billion in 2013 due to the non-payment of money by 24 clients on the exchange floor, hurting 13,000 investors.

The Economic Offence Wing (EOW) of Mumbai Police investigating the case said on Thursday that till now 32 persons have been arrested in the case. 

However, three charge sheets were filed against only seven accused in 2014.

The EOW has covered all of them in the fresh charge sheet on Thursday. Officials said the charge sheet includes statements from 520 witnesses, and details of 509 bank accounts, 22 gigabytes (GB) of data, and 28,337 pages. 

EOW had arrested executives from three brokerages — Anand Rathi Commodities, India Infoline Commodities and Geojit Commodities in 2015. Their names also figure in the charge sheet filed on Thursday.

An NSEL spokerperson said, “The NSEL compliments the EOW of the Mumbai Police (EOW-Mumbai) for filing the charge sheet in the matter, involving counter party defaults at the NSEL platform in August 2013. In fact, in August 2018, the exchange had filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court praying the final charge sheet be filed at the earliest, in the interest of truth and justice. The next hearing in the matter is scheduled on January 7. We request the EOW-Mumbai to file the final charge sheet in the matter as early as possible so that the trial can commence, and the real culprits are brought to the book.”

Last week, the Bombay HC had ordered the EOW to also look at the aspect of attaching properties of the brokers accused in the case, from which the police has stayed away so far.

Thursday’s charge sheet, according to an EOW official, is based on the forensic  and digital forensic audit reports from forensic auditors and digital forensic auditors appointed by the Maharashtra government.

Sources said the charge sheet has been filed against some leading brokers, the NSEL, its executives, several defaulters and their companies, the defunct spot exchange’s subsidiary Indian Bullion Market Association, among others. 

In several cases, the EOW has found fresh evidence, including against Jignesh Shah, whose name also figure in charge sheet, added the source. He was chargesheeted earlier too.