Axis Mutual Fund message to investors after Viresh Joshi’s arrest

Axis Mutual Fund in a statement to investors after Viresh Joshi’s arrest in the front running case, messaged that the proceedings of the recent investigation by ED bear no connection to Axis AMC’s current operations.

The fund house further said that, “We would like to assert that none of the search or seizure

actions involve any of Axis AMC’s offices, branches, or premises.”


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The matter pertains entirely to the alleged actions of an individual, whose employment was terminated by the fund house in May 2022 following a suo moto investigation, and does not reflect on the current operations or investment processes of the AMC, said in an official statement.

In response to the investor, the fund house said that it has taken necessary measures to further strengthen the lines of defences, viz. business operations and control functions and would like to further assure investors that their investments with Axis AMC remain unaffected.

Lastly, the statement said that “Axis AMC remains committed to all our stakeholders and thanks them for keeping their faith in us.”

Viresh Joshi, a former chief trader and fund manager of Axis Mutual Fund, was arrested under the anti-money laundering law in a case linked to alleged cheating of investors to the tune of Rs 200 crore by 'front-running' in trade activities, according to Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Sunday.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court has sent Joshi, who was taken into custody on Saturday, to ED custody till August 8.

"The search operations were part of an ongoing investigation into the illegal profits made by certain entities/persons by indulging in front-running trade activities in scrips traded by Axis Mutual Fund from 2018 to 2021," the ED said.

"The accused had utilised a terminal in Dubai to punch the front-running trade orders through mule trading accounts obtained from various brokers.

"In addition to Joshi, the investigation has revealed that many other traders/brokers also misused the advance inputs on Axis Mutual Fund trades and indulged in front-running to generate illicit trade profits, which are nothing but proceeds of crime," the investigation agency alleged.

The money laundering case originates from an FIR filed by Mumbai Police in December 2024, alleging that Joshi, then a fund manager at Axis Mutual Fund, misused confidential trading information to execute pre-emptive stock trades, resulting in significant illicit gains.

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The alleged illicit funds generated by various traders/brokers, identified till date, amount to more than Rs 200 crore and this sum could be much higher, the ED said.

The ED said it froze shares, mutual funds and bank balance worth Rs 17.4 crore during the searches.

Front-running is an illegal and unethical activity in the securities market where brokers or traders use prior knowledge of their clients’ upcoming trades to place orders for their own benefit. This practice undermines market fairness and transparency, giving the perpetrators an unfair advantage while putting other investors at a disadvantage.

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