 "Sebi chairperson's husband received money from M&M, alleges Congress")
The Congress on Tuesday made fresh allegations against Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and alleged that her husband Dhaval Buch received Rs 4.78 crore between 2019 and 2021 from Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M).
Sebi issued nearly four orders in matters related to M&M in the period, said Congress leader Pawan Khera.
M&M denied the allegations as "false and misleading". However, it clarified that Dhaval Buch was hired by Mahindra Group in 2019 "specifically for his expertise in supply chain and sourcing", after he retired as Unilever's global chief procurement officer.
"We categorically state that we have not, at any point, requested SEBI for any preferential treatment. We maintain the highest standards of corporate governance," said the automaker in an exchange filing.
Dhaval Buch is on the board of Bristlecone, a subsidiary of M&M. "He joined Mahindra Group almost three years before Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch was appointed as Sebi chairperson. Compensation has been specifically and only for Mr Buch’s supply chain expertise and management acumen, based on his global experience at Unilever," said M&M.
The group added that none of the orders or approvals referred in the Congress party's allegations were relevant as three of them did not pertain to the company or its subsidiaries while one was a fast-track rights issue which did not require any approval from Sebi. Another order claimed by the Congress as conflict of interest, was from March 2018, before Dhaval Buch started working with the Mahindra group.
The Opposition party alleged that Puri Buch's consultancy firm Agora Advisory received income from M&M, Dr Reddy’s Lab, Pidilite, ICICI Bank and two other organisations while she was holding positions in the market regulator.
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Agora Advisory is a consultancy firm co-founded by Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch.
“This is a case of willful concealment” and conflict of interest, said Khera, adding that his party will release more information this week. “The companies that have financial relationship with Agora are all being adjudicated by Sebi.”.
Khera reiterated that the advisory firm was "active" while the Sebi chairperson had claimed it to have become dormant during her time at the Sebi.
Hindenburg, a US-based short-seller, had in its follow-up report stated that Agora generated Rs 2.54 crore in income between FY21 and FY24.
The website of India's Ministry of Corporate Affairs showed Dhaval as director of Agora Advisory.
Khera alleged that the rental income from a firm affiliated to Wockhardt, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company, was a case of corruption. Last week, the Congress accused Buch of maintaining a financial relationship with the company while overseeing Sebi’s investigation into Wockhardt, claiming that it amounted to a conflict of interest.
“We categorically deny these allegations and state that these are completely baseless and misleading. The company has acted and continues to act in compliance with all applicable laws,” said Wochkardt in an exchange filing on Friday.
Buch was first appointed Sebi whole-time member in April 2017. She demitted office in October 2021 and once again joined the securities regulator as chairperson in March 2022.
Both Sebi and the Buchs issued separate statements rebutting all the allegations, terming them baseless and an attempt at character assassination.
The Congress party had also raised questions on the alleged payments and ESOPs to Buch from her former employer ICICI Bank, both in terms of the amount and the frequency of payouts.
The private lender rejected the allegations, saying Buch was not paid a salary or granted any ESOPs after her retirement in October 2013.
The bank added that its employees had the choice to exercise their ESOPs anytime up to a period of 10 years from the date of vesting.