New Delhi: The Congress Monday alleged that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch drew income, including salary, of Rs 16.80 crore, from erstwhile employer ICICI Bank at the time she was the market regulator’s whole-time director and then chief.
The party said this puts SEBI under a “huge cloud of suspicion”.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said the revelations amounted to a blatant violation of SEBI’s code of conduct on board member “conflict of interest”, and require Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “come clean” as he heads the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) that appointed Buch as chairperson.
Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said these questions have foregrounded the allegations of “conflict of interest” that Buch, as chairperson of SEBI, has faced since the Supreme Court-mandated probe into violations of securities laws by the Adani Group which was flagged by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research Group.
Giving a break-up of Buch’s income between 2017-2024, Khera alleged she received a salary of Rs 12.63 crore from ICICI Bank between 2017-2021, when she was a whole-time member of the SEBI. Buch joined SEBI in 2017.
“This is in violation of Section 54 of the SEBI (Employees’ Service) Regulations, 2001, and Section 5 of SEBI’s Code on Conflict of Interests for Board Members (2008), both of which prohibit whole time employees of SEBI from taking benefit from any other organisation and engaging in activities that entail receiving a salary or fee,” Khera said.
The Congress leader did not reveal the source of his information, saying it was up to Buch to issue a denial if the allegations were false. He said she also earned Rs 22.41 lakh from ICICI Prudential between 2017-2024, as a whole-time member and later as the SEBI chairperson.
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Under the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Buch further received Rs 2.84 crore from the ICICI Bank between 2021-23, and Rs 1.10 crore as TDS (tax deducted at source) on the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), Khera said.
“In summary, the total amount received by the SEBI Chairperson from ICICI from her time of joining SEBI in 2017 up until today totals Rs 168,022,143 which is shockingly 5.09 times the income she received from SEBI during the same period which amounts to Rs 33,028,246,” Khera said.
The Congress questioned the appointment of Buch to the post of SEBI chairperson in light of the allegations, wondering if the ACC was aware of them, “unless it is completely outsourced to the Prime Minister’s Office”.
“Was the Prime Minister aware that the SEBI chairperson was holding an office of profit and receiving salary/income from ICICI during her time at SEBI? Was the Prime Minister aware that the current SEBI chairperson as a whole-time member of SEBI was adjudicating complaints against ICICI and its affiliates while also receiving income from ICICI?” Khera added.
He also asked the ICICI to come clean on the declaration, if any, made by the private lender on the salary and ESOP benefits being given to Buch even after she joined the SEBI in 2017. Khera also hinted the Congress was going to make more revelations in the coming days on Buch’s involvement with other companies.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)