The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Viresh Gangaram Joshi, the former Chief Dealer of Axis Mutual Fund, for his alleged involvement in a massive Rs 200 crore front-running scam. The arrest followed coordinated raids conducted from August 1 to 2 across several cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, and Kolkata.
This probe stems from an FIR filed by Mumbai Police in December 2024, accusing Joshi of exploiting confidential trading information between 2018 and 2021. Using this insider knowledge, Joshi allegedly conducted preemptive stock trades through mule accounts sourced from brokers, generating illicit profits at the expense of Axis Mutual Fund investors. The fund, which manages assets exceeding Rs 2 lakh crore, suffered significant damage due to this fraudulent activity.
Investigators revealed that Joshi operated from a terminal in Dubai and channeled illicit gains, which ED estimates to be over Rs 200 crore, through shell companies and bank accounts linked to himself and associates. The recent searches resulted in the freezing of assets worth Rs 17.4 crore, including shares, mutual funds, and bank balances.
Joshi was produced before court and granted ED custody until August 8 to facilitate further investigation. Authorities are now scrutinizing several traders and brokers who allegedly collaborated in this scheme by abusing advance trade information — a practice known as front-running, which undermines market fairness and harms investors.
The Enforcement Directorate continues to investigate, with more arrests and asset recoveries expected in this high-profile financial crime case.
