Congress Levels Fresh Conflict Of Interest Charges Against SEBI Chief, Asks Why PM is Not Acting

Levelling more conflict of interest allegations against SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch, the Congress on Friday claimed that she received rental income from an entity affiliated with a company that the capital markets regulator was investigating for various cases, including that of insider trading.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the question really had to be asked of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and no one else on how much more evidence was needed to show the collapse of transparency and integrity, as far as the capital markets regulator was concerned.

"By the NSE's data, there are now 10 crore Indians with unique PANs who have some form of investment in this market. Don't they deserve better? Why does he not move? What is he afraid of?" Ramesh said in a post on X.

The Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said that between 2018 and 2024, Buch -- as a whole-time member and later chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) -- had been receiving rental income amounting to Rs 2.16 crore from "Carol Info Services Limited", a company affiliated to Wockhardt Limited.

Wockhardt Limited was being investigated by SEBI for various cases, including that of insider trading during 2023, he said at a press conference at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.

Khera asserted that this was an outright case of corruption that invoked conflict of interest, violating sections 4, 7 and 8 of SEBI's 2008 code on conflict of interests for members of its board.

"The SEBI chairperson was appointed on March 2, 2022, by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, which the prime minister heads. Was her appointment cleared on the condition that she could maintain her previous financial relationships, provided she acted in line with the wishes of the prime minister and his close associates?" the Congress leader asked.

Previous SEBI chairpersons went to great lengths to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, both in their roles at SEBI and in their earlier positions, he pointed out.

"For instance, M Damodaran sold his 50 SBI shares when he took over UTI in 2001, and CB Bhave recused himself from all matters involving the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL), where he was formerly chairman. In contrast, Ms Buch merely transferred her investments to her spouse, which raises concerns about credibility," Khera said.

He asked why there was no effort to verify whether Buch would follow these established standards.

"Or was this lack of scrutiny part of a mutually beneficial arrangement?" Khera asked.

"If the head of the regulatory body is compromised, then that head becomes pliable. Perhaps that was the objective," the Congress leader said.

Khera said he was challenging the SEBI chief to come out and deny the charges against her.

The Congress had on Thursday demanded an independent inquiry into the matter, asserting that it was in the national interest to have a probe as foreign investors were getting concerned and there were doubts about the integrity of India's stock markets.

The opposition party on Monday also levelled conflict of interest allegations against SEBI Chairperson Buch and asked Modi to come clean as the head of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on her appointment.

The opposition party had said the Supreme Court should take cognisance of these fresh revelations and demanded that the SEBI chairperson be dismissed immediately.

The Congress had alleged that since the current SEBI chairperson took office in 2017, she was not only drawing a salary from SEBI but had also been holding an office of profit at ICICI Bank, continuing to receive income from it.

Subsequently, ICICI Bank said it had not paid any salary or granted ESOPs to Buch after her retirement on October 31, 2013, as alleged by the Congress.

The Congress, in turn, questioned ICICI Bank's assertion that it had not paid any salary or granted ESOPs to the SEBI chairperson after her retirement and asked that if the amount paid to her was her "retiral benefit", why it was non-uniform -- both in terms of its frequency and amount.

These allegations come days after Hindenburg Research launched a fresh broadside against Buch, alleging that she and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the alleged Adani money siphoning scandal.

Buch had denied the allegations as baseless and asserted that their finances were an open book.

The Adani Group had also termed the allegations as malicious and manipulative of select public information, saying it had no commercial relationship with the SEBI chairperson or her husband.