The czar of exchanges, Jignesh Shah, is one of the top entrepreneurs in the country. He is the Chairman Emeritus, and Chief Mentor of 63 Moons Technologies Limited and worth 610 million dollars according to Forbes. With sheer hard work and strong determination, he climbed the ladder of success. From being an employee at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), he became one of the biggest names in the Indian FinTech industry. His dream was to curate new-generation markets and segments that are people-centric and have a comprehensive market structure. He wanted to establish a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to build world-class financial institutions and modern IP-centric financial markets to extend India’s reach. In 1988, he took the world by surprise after launching Financial Technologies India Limited (FTIL), currently known as 63 Moons Technologies Limited. To date, his flagship product is one of the most successful initiatives in the history of the Indian FinTech industry.
When the Indian stock market was a mere pawn in the hands of a few honchos who enjoyed the monopoly, Jignesh Shah introduced FTIL to the world. The organization offered varied and unique solutions to other sectors and promoted their growth and development. This opened up new opportunities in the market and destroyed the dominance of a handful of people. To extend India’s reach and develop new international trade routes, he launched multiple exchanges both in India and abroad. Today, his strategies are studied and analysed as case studies by many.
In his process of developing India, he faced obstacles and challenges weaved by the people who preferred the monopolistic market. He faced a huge setback in 2013 when one of his prime exchanges, National Spot Exchange Limited (NSEL), suffered from a payment default of Rs 5600 crore. Allegations were made against many key individuals but no substantial evidence was found. Soon after, in June 2013, NSEL was barred from launching any further contracts that led to its abrupt shutdown.
As the news went public, subsequently, all investigative agencies turned their attention towards the exchange. Many brokers, investors and administrators including Jignesh Shah were under the radar of suspicion. The Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai Police summoned Jignesh Shah repeatedly at the police station and Shah ensured full cooperation to help track down the money. Even after visiting nearly 20 times, he was detained under the ground of non-cooperation on May 7th.
The shocking arrest of Jignesh Shah was highly suspicious. No hard evidence is found against him to date. Sources say that someone from the top administration ordered Jignesh Shah’s arrest but his/her identity is still unknown. Further, more information surfaced that question the arrest of Jignesh Shah. Before his arrest, EOW boss Rajvardhan Sinha and a lieutenant of Dr. K. P. Krishnan engaged in a meeting. Why was he so far in Mumbai? What was their meeting about? What suddenly triggered Shah’s arrest? The questions still remain unanswered.
