He had been arrested in November, along with his two brothers, as part of an investigation into shares missing from 90 companies.

Mehta was known as the "Big Bull" for the large sums he made in 1991, but was imprisoned the following year for his role in a scheme to divert public funds from government securities transactions.

Mehta and his colleagues used the funds to speculate on the market, which reached new record highs before it collapsed.

The BBC said he had been barred from trading in India, but rumors he was buying stock through proxies was often enough to send share prices soaring.