SEBI chief Madhabi violated rules for regulatory officers: Reuters
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Mumbai: The Chief of India's market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Madhabi Puri Buch, kept earning revenue from a consultancy firm during her seven-year tenure. Thus, she breached rules for regulatory officials, Reuters reported, citing public documents.
The new revelation comes after Hindenburg Research alleged a conflict of interest in Buch's investigations around the Adani group because of her previous investments. Hindenburg Reseach's shocking findings, which were publicised in January last year against Adani's group, have brought a big drop in the share prices of companies under the group. Though the company recovered later, the Hindenburg report prompted a SEBI investigation into the group's businesses.
In another news article, the People's Commission on Public Sector and Public Services (PCPSPS) questioned the Modi government's lack of concern about the report.
On Friday, the policy consultations body PCPSPS said that it feels that the government cannot afford to adopt such a hands-off, indifferent approach to the Hindenburg report. The government must clear doubts by ordering a quick, independent investigation to ascertain the factual correctness of the accusations, PCPSPS said.
Last week, Hinden burg Research accused SEBI chief Madhabi Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch of having stakes in offshore funds in the Adani money siphoning scandal.
The PCPSPS continued that the SEBI chairman may say that she has disclosed the details of her investments to SEBI since she had been a full-time member of SEBI from April 2017 to March 2022, and the chairman thereafter, it is the government that would have appointed her to those senior positions. If any disclosure were to be made by her, she ought to have made such a disclosure not only to SEBI but also to the Ministry of Finance. One is not sure whether the Ministry of Finance had been informed of it by her and if the Union Cabinet had also been kept informed. In principle, since Hindenburg had made accusations against her as an individual, she cannot give a clean chit to herself, the policy consultation body said.