ED Conducts Multi-City Raids in Axis Mutual Fund Front-Running Case

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated extensive search operations across multiple cities, including Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bhavnagar, Bhuj, Gurgaon, Kolkata, and Ludhiana, as part of a probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The raids are linked to an ongoing investigation into alleged front-running trades involving Axis Mutual Fund between 2018 and 2021.

According to officials familiar with the matter, certain individuals and entities are suspected of making illegal profits by engaging in front-running — a trading malpractice in which insiders use advance knowledge of upcoming transactions to benefit from price movements in securities.

The ED's action follows earlier regulatory investigations by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), which had flagged unusual trading patterns and potential misuse of confidential information by some fund managers and intermediaries associated with Axis Mutual Fund during the specified period.

The search operations are aimed at gathering financial documents, electronic records, and other evidence to ascertain the extent of alleged gains and the network of beneficiaries involved.