Ramann quits Sebi as CAG refuses extension

The audit and accounts service officer was handling market regulation and surveillance

S Ramann, who has been overseeing the crucial market regulation and surveillance departments of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in his role as executive director has been relieved of his duties.

Ramann's six-year stint with the regulator came to an end earlier this week as the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India did not approve of a request for extension of his deputation, according to people familiar with the development.

A Sebi spokesperson was not available for comment. However, Ramann’s name was removed from the Sebi website and the columns referring to the two departments he managed drew a blank.

These two departments, which fall under wholetime member R K Agarwal, will be allotted as additional charge to another executive director until a replacement is found, the source added.

At present, Sebi is left with six executive directors--P K Nagpal, S Ravindran, Anant Barua, J Ranganayakulu, Murlidhar Rao and R K Padmanabhan.

Ramann, a member of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service, became executive director in August 2011. Earlier, he was officer on special duty at Sebi from January 2007 at the grade of chief general manager.

As executive director, he was heading the market regulation department (MRD) and the integrated surveillance department (ISD).

As head of MRD, Ramann was responsible for laying down the policy framework for the secondary securities market (stock exchanges and depositories), derivatives market and for introduction of new products in the Indian securities market. As head of ISD, he led successful enforcement of a number of high-profile cases, besides introducing various policy initiatives and technological advancements in Sebi, including implementation of the Integrated Market Surveillance System and the Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence System. Both systems contribute to the effective surveillance and investigation functions of Sebi.

Ramann was a member of the Core Working Team formed by the government of India for pursuing the Indian membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In that capacity, he has led Sebi in the joint FATF/APG mutual evaluation of India. In the past, Ramann has held positions in the government such as executive assistant to the CAG and first secretary (audit) at the Indian High Commission, UK.