SEBI Chairperson Denies Congress Allegations; Mahua Moitra Seeks Lokpal Probe

Mumbai: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch dismissed the allegations made against them by Congress as “incorrect, motivated and defamatory.”

In a joint statement, the couple said that the information their detractors are putting out in public domain as instances of conflict of interest are all fully disclosed in the ITR filed by them.

“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,” the Buchs stated.

The Congress alleged that Dhaval Buch received Rs 4.78 crore from Mahindra Group when it was investigated by SEBI for market infractions.

They claimed Madhabi never handled any files related to Agora Advisory, Agora Partners, the Mahindra Group, Pidilite, Dr Reddy’s, Alvarez and Marsal, Sembcorp, Visu Leasing, or ICICI Bank during her tenure at SEBI.

Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra filed a complained with Lokpal against SEBI Chief Madhabi over alleged investment in offshore funds linked to Adani Group companies, an allegation first labelled by Hindenburg Research.

“My LokPal complaint against Ms Puri-Buch been filed electronically & in physical form. LokPal must within 30 days refer it to CBI/ED for a preliminary investigation and then a full FIR enquiry. Every single entity involved needs to be summoned & every link investigated,” Moitra said in a X post.