Faceless yogi living in Himalayas ‘controlled’ Indian stock exchange for years
A mysterious yogi living in the Himalayan mountains controlled India’s $4 trillion (£2.9 trillion) national stock exchange for years, according to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
The spiritual guide, whose identity is unknown, treated the institution’s former chief executive as “a puppet in his hands”, according to the investigation, giving her instructions on everything from job appointments to business plans and projections, and even employee performance appraisals.
The investigation revealed 20 years’ worth of emails between the yogi and Chitra Ramkrishna, who said she first met the guru on the banks of the River Ganges and had sought his advice on “many personal and professional matters” ever since.
Ms Ramkrishna was eventually forced out of her role at the stock exchange in a mismanagement scandal involving an executive appointment she made on the guru’s advice.
On Feb 11, SEBI penalised Ms Ramkrishna for allowing “her decisions on various aspects of the functioning of the stock exchange to be influenced by that unknown person”, whose identity its investigators were unable to confirm.
Ms Ramkrishna told the SEBI she believed her guide was now living mostly in the Himalayas, but that she communicated with him by email, since “their spiritual powers do not require them to have any physical co-ordinates”.
The former chief executive and four other stock exchange officials were fined a total of $1 million (£738,000) and barred from involvement with any market infrastructure institution for three years.
Yogi’s guidance sought on colleague’s promotion
Ms Ramkrishna was appointed managing director of the National Stock Exchange of India in 2009 and was promoted to chief executive in 2013.
That year, she appointed Anand Subramanian, who at the time was little known in the industry, as the exchange’s chief operating officer on a part-time basis. He was awarded an annual salary of $223,000 (£164,000), despite claiming that his last drawn salary had been just $20,000 (£14,754). His pay rose to $664,000 (£490,000) over the next two years, in accordance with the yogi’s instructions.
The investigation also revealed emails from 2015 in which Ms Ramkrishna sought guidance from the yogi on a promotion for Mr Subramanian and how to hand over some of the operations to him.
“I seek your guidance on the path forward on this Swami [master], if this meets with your Highness’ approval,” Ms Ramkrishna wrote.
However, between 2015 and 2016, SEBI received multiple allegations of mismanagement against Ms Ramkrishna. She was ultimately ousted in 2016 for her role in a trading scam and abuse of power in the appointment of Mr Subramanian. She received $5.8 million (£4.3 million) as pending dues and salary on her departure.
The SEBI investigation said that Ms Ramkrishna failed to maintain confidentiality, personal integrity and honesty in discharging her duties and that she engaged in acts discreditable to her responsibilities as the chief executive of the National Stock Exchange.
Ms Ramkrishna said that her relationship with the yogi was “spiritual in nature” and that her exchanges with him did not compromise her integrity.
