New Delhi: The Congress Party-led Public Accounts Committee may summon SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch amid a slew of controversies and an Opposition call for a probe into the allegations levelled by US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research against her, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Public Accounts Committee in a tentative schedule shared its agenda in which it is likely to summon the SEBI chief amid a slew of controversies.
Why PAC may review SEBI, summon Buch
The PAC, headed by Congress may conduct a suo moto review of SEBI and summon Buch to clear the air amid the spate of controversies that have engulfed the markets regulator and its chief since 2023.
SEBI chief’s alleged conflict of interest
US-based hsort seller Hindenburg Research in a report on August 11, 2204, alleged that the SEBI chief and her husband Dhaval Buch were allegedly invested in an overseas fund whose investors included Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani’s elder brother Vinod Adani.
The report alleged that the fund was operated by a former Adani Group executive. To be sure, Buch and her husband in a joint statement dismissed the allegations stating that the fund was run by a batchmate of Dhaval’s and the holdings had been gradually liquidated since the time of Buch assuming a position in SEBI’s board.
Multiple salaries drawn by Buch
The Congress Party alleged that ICICI Bank continued to pay Buch even after she had assumed a position at the markets regulator, long after quitting the bank. Buch, who had multiple tenures with ICICI Bank, stepped down as CEO of ICICI Securities in 2013. However, Congress alleged that Buch received an over Rs 200 crore payout from the bank long after retirement. ICICI Bank clarified that the payouts were Buch’s retirals, mainly in the form of ESOPs.
Congress countered ICICI Bank’s clarification by questioning why the retiral payout resumed after a brief lull in 2017. The party questioned by the retirals exceeded the average salary drawn by Buch during her tenure with ICICI Bank. Further, questions were raised regarding the vesting of stocks and the payment of GST on stock redemptions by the SEBI chief.
Employee discontent
A month-old letter by nearkt 500 SEBI grade A staffers addressed to the finance ministry sought to apprise it about the alleged “toxic conditions” of work under the current leadership at the markets regulator. They expressed their discontent with alleged minute-to-minute monitoring of their movements, setting of impossible targets as well as the use of a negative tone by the leadership, including Buch against grade A officers.
SEBI refuted these charges, adding that the officers may have been influenced by external forces. The aggrieved officers held a silet protest outside SEBI Mumbai headquarters on Thursday, seeking SEBI’s retraction iof its external influence remark as well as the removal of Buch from the top job.
The Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee headed by Congress Pary’s K C Venugopal in a tentative schedule shared its agenda in which it is likely to summon the SEBI chief amid a slew of controversies. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
