New Delhi:Upping the ante over the conflict of interest row involving SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Buch, the Congress on Saturday claimed that she traded in listed securities while in possession of unpublished price-sensitive information and has been investing in the Chinese firms at a time when India is facing geopolitical tensions with China.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh pointed to "fresh conflict of interest allegations" against Buch, claiming that she, as a whole-time member and later as the SEBI chairperson, traded in listed securities worth Rs 36.9 crore. The Congress attack comes a day after Buch said that she had made all necessary disclosures and complied with recusal guidelines in dealing with companies such as Mahindra Group that hired her husband, as she rejected allegations of impropriety as "false, malicious and motivated".
Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch in a joint statement -- the second since US-based short seller Hindenburg Research charged her of not being motivated enough to act on allegations against the Adani group due to conflict of interest -- also addressed issues raised by the opposition Congress over receiving payments from her previous employer the ICICI Bank while being a whole time member of the SEBI.
The statement said Buch never dealt with any file involving Agora Advisory and Agora Partners -- the advisories where she held 99 per cent and continued to earn revenue even after she joined the market regulator body Sebi in 2017. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on X, said it is not surprising that the "government's favourite, the SEBI chairperson, is also not behind in investing in Chinese companies".
The new revelations prove that there are many things that are kept secret, he added. Posing questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ramesh asked if he is aware that the SEBI chairperson has been trading in listed securities while in possession of unpublished price sensitive information.
"Is the PM aware that Madhabi Buch has made high value investments outside India? If yes, what is the date of this investment and date of disclosure?" Ramesh asked. Is the PM aware that the SEBI chairperson has been investing in Chinese firms at a time when India is facing geopolitical tensions with China, the Congress leader asked.
Addressing a press conference at the AICC headquarters here, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera alleged that between 2017-2023, Buch, as a whole-time member and later as the SEBI chairperson, traded in listed securities worth Rs 36.9 crore. This is in violation of Section 6 of the SEBI's Code on Conflict of Interest for the Members of Board (2008), he said.
He also gave a year-wise break up of the total trading in securities which in total amounted to over Rs 36.9 crore. In addition to that, Khera said, "We have information that between 2017-2021, Madhabi Buch held foreign assets." "We hereby ask: When was the first time she declared the foreign assets and to which agency of the government? Is it true that Ms. Madhabi P. Buch was actively involved in Agora Partners PTE (Singapore) as she was a signatory to the bank account?" he said.