SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, along with her husband, Dhaval Buch, on Friday refuted recent allegations made against her by the Congress party citing Hindenburg Research, 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 personally, 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, which have been fully disclosed, and taxes have been duly paid,” the couple said.
They claimed that their income tax returns had been obtained illegally through fraudulent means.
“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 that the “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 that provided consultancy services to the Mahindra and Mahindra Group. 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 the SEBI Chairperson and her husband have already denied. The couple said they are confident they could ‘demolish’ the charges even in the future.
–IANS
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