MAM
Ajay Khurana takes the wheel at ECL Finance to drive MSME lending shift
MUMBAI: ECL Finance has just swapped gears in its leadership engine. As of 1 April 2025, Ajay K. Khurana officially took charge as managing director, armed with four decades of no-nonsense banking muscle and a mandate to turbocharge the company’s pivot to MSME lending. Following the Reserve Bank of India’s nod, ECL has pulled the trigger on a leadership move that blends governance grit with digital flair.
Khurana isn’t just another pinstripe suit in a boardroom. With heavyweight stints at Bank of Baroda, Syndicate Bank and Vijaya Bank, he’s been elbows-deep in consumer banking, risk management and digital transformation. He’s also no stranger to shaping the financial plumbing of the country, having served on boards like NPCI and Indo Zambia Bank, and chaired Baroda Global Shared Services and Baroda Sun Technologies to push tech-led banking upgrades.
ECL Finance is currently steering its strategy away from its old-school wholesale roots. Over the last five years, the company slashed its wholesale lending book by a staggering 85 per cent and trimmed its debt by 80 per cent, opting instead for a leaner, cleaner, retail-focused model. Now, it’s going all-in on asset-light MSME lending, betting on agility over bulk.
With Khurana at the helm, the game plan is clear: scale sustainably, innovate boldly, and bring some digital dazzle to the often-boring world of finance. And given his track record, it looks like ECL Finance may finally be ready to play offence rather than just defence.
Brands
CoinDCX co-founders held in Thane over Rs 71 lakh fraud case
Firm calls FIR false, claims impersonation scam as probe unfolds
THANE: The Thane Police have arrested Sumit Gupta and Neeraj Khandelwal, co-founders of CoinDCX, on charges of criminal breach of trust linked to an alleged Rs 71.6 lakh fraud.
The duo were picked up from Bengaluru and produced before a holiday court in Thane, which remanded them to police custody until Monday.
At the centre of the case is a complaint by an insurance advisor from Mumbra, who claims he was drawn in by promises of high returns and regulatory backing tied to cryptocurrency investments and franchise opportunities. The alleged scheme ran between August 2025 and February 2026, with funds collected through both cash and bank transfers. The promised franchise never materialised, nor did the returns, and the accused allegedly became untraceable.
Police have registered an FIR against six individuals under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and launched a broader investigation.
CoinDCX, however, has pushed back sharply. In a statement posted on X, the company described the FIR as “false” and part of a wider impersonation scam, claiming fraudsters had been posing as its founders to dupe unsuspecting investors.
“The entire conspiracy falsely claims that funds were transferred in cash to third-party accounts which have no relation to CoinDCX,” the company said, distancing itself from the alleged transactions.
The firm added that brand impersonation scams are on the rise in India’s digital finance ecosystem. It noted that it had flagged over 1,200 fake websites mimicking its platform between April 2024 and January 2026.
For now, the case sits at a familiar crossroads in India’s crypto story, where ambition, opacity and opportunism often collide, leaving investigators to untangle what is real and what merely looks the part.
