ED arrests ex-Axis Mutual Fund chief dealer Viresh Joshi in Rs 200 crore scam

In a major crackdown on financial market malpractice, the Enforcement Directorate has arrested Viresh Gangaram Joshi, former chief dealer of Axis Mutual Fund, in connection with a Rs 200 crore front-running scam involving illegal trading activities between 2018 and 2021.

The arrest follows extensive search operations conducted on August 1 and 2 across multiple cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Gurugram, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Bhuj and Kolkata under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“The accused has cheated the investors of Axis Mutual Fund, which holds assets under management of more than Rs 2 lakh crore,” a senior ED official said.

The ED launched its probe based on an FIR registered by the Mumbai Police in December 2024, which alleged that Joshi exploited sensitive, non-public information regarding trades placed by Axis Mutual Fund to execute pre-emptive trades through mule accounts and generate illicit profits.

“Joshi used a terminal in Dubai to carry out these front-running trades via accounts acquired from various brokers,” the official said. The illicit gains, now classified as proceeds of crime (PoC), were routed through a network of shell companies and bank accounts controlled by Joshi, his associates and family members.

Preliminary findings by the ED indicate that the PoC generated so far exceeds Rs 200 crore, though officials believe the figure could rise significantly as investigations continue.

The ED clarified that Joshi was not acting alone. Several other traders and brokers are under the scanner for allegedly using advance inputs on Axis MF trades to engage in front-running, a practice that undermines market integrity and causes losses to ordinary investors.

During the searches, ED has frozen assets worth Rs 17.4 crore in the form of shares, mutual funds and bank balances. Joshi was arrested on August 2 and produced before a competent court, which has remanded him to ED custody till August 8.