SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch, husband deny impropriety allegations

SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch on Friday (September 13, 2024) denied a series of allegations of impropriety and conflict of interest levelled by the Congress, saying these are “incorrect, motivated and defamatory”.

Buchs said the allegations are based on Income tax returns filed by them.

They further said all the information have been fully disclosed and taxes have been duly paid.

“Our income tax returns clearly have been obtained by adopting fraudulent means and illegally. This is a clear breach of not only our right to privacy (which is a fundamental right) but also a violation of the Income Tax Act,” Buchs said in a statement.

The Congress has recently levelled multiple allegations against SEBI chief and her husband, alleging a conflict of interest, involving a consultancy firm related to them.

The Congress had alleged that Dhaval Buch earned ₹4.78 crore from Mahindra Group at a time when the regulator was investigating it for market infractions.

According to the statement, Madhabi has never dealt with any file involving Agora Advisory, Agora Partners, the Mahindra Group, Pidilite, Dr Reddy’s, Alvarez and Marsal, Sembcorp, Visu Leasing or ICICI Bank at any stage after her joining Sebi.

“The allegations are completely false, malicious and defamatory. Madhabi has complied with all the disclosure and recusal guidelines of SEBI, and in fact, maintained a proactive continuing recusal list with SEBI over and above the requirements under the guidelines,” it added.