The Congress on Friday levelled fresh charges of conflict of interest against Madhabi Puri Buch, the embattled chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), alleging that she received rental income from a company affiliated with a pharmaceutical major under SEBI investigation in a number of cases, including insider trading.
Pawan Khera, who heads the Congress media and publicity wing, alleged that between 2018 and 2024, while Ms. Buch was a whole-time member and later chairperson of SEBI, she had received rental income amounting to ?2.16 crore from Carol Info Services Limited, a company affiliated to Wockhardt Limited.
Wockhardt denial
Wockhardt denied the allegations that one of its subsidiaries paid rent to the SEBI chairperson to secure favourable orders. “It has come to our attention that there are certain allegations pertaining to payment of rent by Carol Info Services Ltd and its connection with certain orders passed by SEBI in relation to the Company. In this regard, we categorically deny these allegations and state that these allegations are completely?baseless and misleading,” Wockhardt said in a filing with the stock exchanges.
Earlier, Mr. Khera had claimed that Ms. Buch received rental income from a Wockhardt subsidiary in violation of Sections 4, 7, and 8 of SEBI’s 2008 code on conflicts of interest for members of its board.
‘Compromised and pliable’
“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?” Mr. Khera asked, addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters.
He also pointed out how previous SEBI chairpersons had gone to great lengths to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, both in their roles at SEBI and in their earlier positions.
“For instance, M. Damodaran sold his 50 SBI shares when he took over UTI in 2001, and C.B. 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,” Mr. Khera said.
“If the head of the regulatory body is compromised, then that head becomes pliable. Perhaps that was the objective,” he added.
‘PM must act’
In a post on X, his senior colleague and Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said, “The question really has to be asked of the non-biological PM himself and nobody else. 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?” Mr. Ramesh asked.
Published - September 06, 2024 04:03 pm IST
