“Buch has maintained her complete silence for weeks on all of the emerging issues,” said the shortseller in a post on X.
In reaction, Hindenburg said “New allegations have emerged that the private consulting entity, 99% owned by SEBI Chair Madhabi Buch, accepted payments from multiple listed companies regulated by SEBI during her time as SEBI Whole-Time Member. The companies include: Mahindra & Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Dr. Reddy’s and Pidilite. These allegations apply to Buch’s Indian consulting entity with no details thus far on Buch’s Singapore-based consulting entity.”
Congress’ allegations against Buch:
The opposition Congress party doubled down on its accusations against Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, saying that a consultancy firm promoted by her had earned about Rs 3 crore, with most of the money coming from Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), alleging a “criminal conspiracy.” At the time, Buch was a whole-time member of SEBI, which was adjudicating cases of the group, amounting to conflict of interest under Section 5 of the SEBI code on the matter, according to the party. Buch holds 99% of the consultancy Agora Advisory Private Ltd, “which has been actively providing advisory/consultancy services till date,” the party said. This also contradicts her statement that the advisory firm became “immediately dormant on her appointment with SEBI,” it said. Buch didn’t respond to queries. M&M said, “We consider these allegations false and misleading in nature.”
Between 2016 and 2024, Buch received Rs 2.95 crore through Agora Advisory, with Rs 2.59 crore of that coming from M&M. In addition to this, her husband Dhaval Buch got Rs 4.78 crore as income in a personal capacity from M&M, it said. The Congress asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he was aware of Buch’s “ties to a conflicted entity” and that her spouse was getting “a substantial income from M&M after his retirement.”
Apart from M&M, Agora’s clients between 2016 and 2024 were Dr Reddy’s, Pidilite, ICICI, Sembcorp, and Visu Leasing and Finance. Of these, four are listed in India and come under the purview of SEBI. Sembcorp, majority owned by Singapore’s Temasek, has investments in India, while Visu Leasing is now known as Incred Financial Services.“This isn’t just a case of wilful concealment; it’s a case of wilful lying,” said the statement issued by Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera. “In my last press conference, I had mentioned that it is not merely a conflict of interest, it is a case of corruption. Today’s revelations will prove that it is not just corruption — it is a criminal conspiracy, absolutely brazen and shameless in its execution.”Buch was an independent director on the boards of Thermal Powertech Corporation India and NCC Power Projects from July 2015 to November 2016.
(more to come)
