On Saturday, the Congress party virtually gave SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch a tough time by saying that she had traded in listed securities once she was in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information. The party also accused her of investing in Chinese companies when there was hostility between India and China.
Ahead of membership in MoP, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh listed what he said were “new conflict of interest allegations,” including that Buch engaged in trading in listed securities worth ₹36. Of the total 9 crore, she earned it during her whole time of membership and when she was appointed SEBI chairperson.
This statement came after Buch had defended herself by stating that she had made a disclosure and observed recusal regulations for companies such as Mahindra Group, where her husband worked. She also dismissed the allegations made against her as belonging to the category of false, malicious, and motivated.
In the statement, Buch and her husband responded to issues raised about the overpayment she received from ICICI Bank while sitting on the SEBI board. They explained to her that she had never touched any files concerning Agora Advisory, through which she was a 99% shareholder.
The Congress President, Mallikarjun Kharge, expressed his displeasure with Buch’s investment in Chinese firms. On the other hand, Ramesh asked PM Modi about Buch’s trading practices and foreign investment. Pawan Khera of the Congress said that Buch had violated SEBI’s Code on Conflict of Interest and narrated Buch’s alleged trading activities from 2017 to 2023.
The uproar was compounded when accusations were made that Buch continued to draw royalties from Agora Advisory after he was appointed to SEBI in 2017. Khera continued with assertions that Buch had many stakes in the U.S. and Chinese funds, raising a big question mark on her regulatory position as relations with the Chinese continue to deteriorate.
Buch has in the past been accused by congress of receiving an income of ₹16 Crore. 8 crore from ICICI Bank while hearing cases regarding the complaints of customers against the bank in total of her service. Such imageries could be linked up with new revelations such as offshore funds, which are said to have links with the Adani group, and the focus on Buch has refused to dye out as Congress asks for elucidation of different stakeholders involved.
