Congress demands independent probe into allegations against SEBI’s Madhabi Puri Buch

The Indian National Congress (INC) demanded an independent investigation into the row of allegations against Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch on Thursday, September 5, reported the news agency PTI.

The opposition party said that it is in the national interest to have an investigation into the matter as foreign investors were becoming concerned and there were doubts related to the integrity of the Indian stock market, as per the report.

Congress said only an objective, independent inquiry with Buch stepping aside was needed until then to restore trust and confidence in India’s stock markets and the country's economy, as per the report.

Chairman of Professionals' Congress and Data Analytics Praveen Chakravarty alleged that SEBI has a lot of skeletons which are tumbling out of the cupboard, cited the report.

“On 10 August, a foreign research firm issued a report with allegations against the SEBI chairperson and her family regarding offshore funds, for which they claimed to have documentary evidence. This allegation was made by a research firm, not by any political party. In response, a cabinet minister of the Modi government addressed the issue,” said Chakravarty at a press conference, reported the news agency.

Chakravarty questioned why they responded to an allegation made by a foreign research firm about an employee, and why Buc is not responding but her previous employer ICICI is, as per the report.

Chakravarty pointed out that 500 SEBI officers have written a letter to the Government of India alleging that the work environment under Buch's leadership is “toxic, abusive and fearful,” as per the report.

“Today, a news report says that Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch did have two employments when she was at ICICI. She was also employed in a private equity fund called Greater Specific Capital... Ms. Buch may have been recruited as a finance professional, but this raises a long list of allegations and questions. Doesn't it raise more concern?” he said, according to the report.

The Congress leader questioned about the hesitation in conducting an impartial and objective inquiry, said the report.

“As a former financial professional myself, I have received several calls from foreign investors asking, 'What is the status of the market regulator? Can we trust India's securities market? What is happening with the integrity of the market regulator?” he said, quoted the report.

Chakravarty stated that the opposition party wants a strong and robust stock market in India.

“We want foreign capital in our stock market. This is too important for the country; it is a national issue. The real question is: Who is being protected here? Why is the ED silent on Madhabi Puri Buch?” he said, quoted in the report.

“This is a national issue. If foreign investors are getting concerned and there are doubts about the integrity of India's stock markets because of a series of allegations against the chairperson of the market regulator, is it not in the national interest to conduct an inquiry to get to the root of this matter and resolve it,” said Chakravarty.

Chakravarty also highlighted the whistleblower portal indiawhistleblower.com on which information can be posted anonymously. Congress also shared this information in its platform X handle, as per the report.

According to the report, the Congress on Monday levelled fresh conflict of interest allegations against SEBI Chairperson Buch and asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come clean as the head of the cabinet appointments committee on Buch's appointment.

The opposition party had said the Supreme Court should recognise the fresh revelations and demanded that the SEBI chairperson should be dismissed immediately, as per the report.

Congress alleged that since the current SEBI chairperson took office in 2017, she has not only been drawing a salary from SEBI but has also been holding an office of profit at the ICICI Bank, continuing to receive income from them to this very day, they said at a press conference.

ICICI Bank also stated that they did not pay any salary or grant any employee stock options (ESOPs) to Buch after her retirement, as alleged by Congress, as per the exchange filing.

The Congress, in turn, had 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 was it non-uniform in terms of its frequency and amount, as per the report.

These allegations surfaced after the US-based short seller Hindenburg Research launched a new report against Buch, alleging that she and her husband had stakes in offshore funds used to siphon money into the Adani Group. Buch has denied the allegations and termed them as baseless, and even Adani Group termed the allegations as malicious and manipulative.