Published on: Aug 04, 2025 07:04 am IST
The ED has frozen ₹17.4 crore in assets and arrested Axis Mutual Fund’s Viresh Joshi in a ₹200 crore money-laundering case involving front-running trades.
MUMBAI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has frozen assets worth ₹17.4 crore in a multi-city crackdown linked to a ₹200 crore money-laundering case involving front-running trades at Axis Mutual Fund. The agency on Saturday also arrested the alleged kingpin, Viresh Joshi, who was the fund manager at Axis Mutual Fund during the time of the alleged offences.
₹17.4 crore assets in ₹200 crore Axis Mutual Fund front-running case; ex-fund manager arrested” title=”ED freezes ₹17.4 crore assets in ₹200 crore Axis Mutual Fund front-running case; ex-fund manager arrested” />The searches were carried out on Friday and Saturday at locations across Mumbai, Delhi, Gurugram, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Bhuj, Bhavnagar, and Kolkata under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The frozen assets — considered proceeds of crime — include shares, mutual fund holdings, and bank balances.
According to the ED, Joshi and others made illegal profits by engaging in front-running — an illicit trading practice where brokers or insiders exploit advance knowledge of large client trades to buy or sell stocks for personal gain. The trades were allegedly conducted between 2018 and 2021, using sensitive data from Axis Mutual Fund, which manages assets worth over ₹2 lakh crore.
The ED said Joshi used a trading terminal in Dubai to execute these front-running orders through mule accounts obtained from multiple brokers. The investigation has so far identified proceeds of crime exceeding ₹200 crore, though officials believe the actual figure could be significantly higher.
“The funds were routed through a complex web of shell entities and accounts controlled by the accused, their associates, and family members,” an ED official said.
The central agency launched its probe after the Mumbai Police registered a case in December 2024, alleging that Joshi had misused confidential trading information to cheat investors. The ED said several other traders and brokers are also under the scanner for allegedly participating in the scheme and generating illicit profits.
