The Indian National Congress on September 14, 2024 levelled new allegations against Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairperson Madhabi P. Buch that she had traded in listed securities in violation of Sebi rules.
The party issued a release wherein it highlighted Section 6 of Sebi’s Code on Conflict of Interest for Members of Board (2008) – “A member shall not deal in securities of a company listed in on a recognised stock exchange based on unpublished price-sensitive information which he may have got access to.”
The statement, issued by Pawan Khera, chairman of the media and publicity department of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), accused Buch of trading in listed securities worth Rs 36.9 crore between 2017 and 2023, during her tenure as a full-time member of Sebi and later as Sebi chairperson.
The party also alleged that Buch held foreign assets between 2017 and 2021. The Congress party has demanded clarification on when she declared these foreign assets and to which government agency she had made the declaration. It further asked: “Is it true that Madhabi P. Buch was actively involved in Agora Partners PTE (Singapore) as she was a signatory to the bank account?”
Questions To PM Modi
The Congress party also posed several questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its statement. It asked if the prime minister was aware of Buch’s alleged trading activities while being in possession of unpublished price sensitive information, her high-value investments outside India, and her investments in Chinese firms amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions between India and China.
The Congress party has been making allegations against Buch since September 2, 2024 on several issues, ranging from drawing salary from ICICI Bank and ICICI Prudential. It alleged that Buch had rented her property to ‘Carol Info Services Limited’, an affiliate of Wockhardt Limited, between 2018 and 2024. Wockhardt has been under Sebi’s investigation for cases, including insider trading.
