NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The head of India’s market regulator and her husband are answering allegations of conflict of interest raised by the main opposition Congress party, and the facts have to be “taken on board”, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday,
Securities and Exchange Board of India chair Madhabi Puri Buch has faced criticism from U.S. short seller Hindenburg Research and Indian opposition parties about alleged conflicts of interest in investigations related to the Adani Group and other corporate entities.
Buch has denied all allegations.
India’s Congress party has led calls for her to resign.
“Quite a few allegations are being answered by her and by her husband. Both of them together are defending themselves and putting out facts to contradict those that (are) being alleged by the Congress party,” Sitharaman told News18 India news channel.
“So I think the facts will have to be taken on board,” Sitharaman said, adding – without elaborating – that she will not prejudge Buch’s response.
These are the first public comments by the finance minister on the allegations against Buch.
The Congress party has alleged that Buch had a conflict of interest in dealings with ICICI Bank – where she worked until 2011 – Mahindra Group and Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, among others.
The three companies, Buch and her husband have denied the allegations.
Separately, Sitharaman said the Indian government must consider supporting small traders impacted by predatory pricing practices by large companies.
An Indian antitrust investigation found U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart violated local competition laws by giving preference to select sellers on their shopping websites, according to reports seen by Reuters.
Last month, India’s commerce minister publicly called out Amazon, saying its investments were often used to cover its business losses.
(Reporting by Nikunj Ohri and Shivangi Acharya; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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