SEBI Chairperson, husband deny involvement in Mahindra, ICICI Bank

Mumbai, Sep 13 (IANS) SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, along with her husband Dhaval Buch, on Friday refuted recent allegations made against her, saying she 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 joining the markets regulator.

The statement, issued in a personal capacity, said the allegations are "completely false, malicious and defamatory".

"All the allegations made are false, incorrect, malicious and motivated. The allegations themselves are based on our Income Tax Returns. In other words, all these matters are a part of our Income Tax returns in which all these matters have been fully disclosed and taxes have been duly paid," the couple said.

They claimed that their Income Tax Returns 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. The facts, transparently reflected in our Income Tax Returns, have been twisted deliberately to create a false narrative," the statement read.

The statement also clarified that ICICI Bank payments to Agora were interest payments on deposits and "ascribing motive to it is unfortunate and defamatory."

This came after the Congress claimed the SEBI chief had a 99 per cent stake in a firm when it provided consultancy services to the Mahindra and Mahindra Group, and her husband received Rs 4.78 crore as income from the conglomerate, while she was adjudicating cases of the same group.

Mahindra Group had denied the claims, stating that the charges levelled by the Congress were "false and misleading in nature". Earlier, allegations made by US short-seller Hindenburg Research claimed Buch was involved in a conflict of interest regarding SEBI’s investigation into the Adani Group, a charge which has already been denied by the SEBI Chairperson and her husband. The couple said they are confident they would be able to 'demolish' the charges even in the future.