Congress has slammed SEBI’s refusal to disclose instances when its Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch recused herself due to conflict of interest and said that this makes a “mockery” of public accountability and transparency.
The cases where Buch recused herself due to potential conflict of interest is not “readily” available and collating them would “disproportionately divert” its resources, the securities market regulator said in an RTI response on September 20.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, “The multiple conflicts of interest of the SEBI chairperson that have been revealed so far are shocking in themselves. Now in a move that adds more fuel to the raging fire, Sebi has simply refused to divulge information to a RTI activist on instances of the Sebi Chairperson recusing herself on issues where there have been potential conflicts of interest.”
SEBI’s reply was furnished in response to transparency activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd). The regulator also refused to provide copies of Buch’s declarations to the government and SEBI Board on the financial assets and equities held by her and her family members on the grounds of these being “personal information” and that their disclosure may “endanger” personal safety.
“This makes a mockery of public accountability and transparency as far as SEBI is concerned,” he said in a post on X (formally twitter).
SEBI has also denied to disclose the dates on which the disclosures were made. The Sebi Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) cited “personal information” and “safety” to deny a copy of those declarations.
On September 14, 2024, Congress intensified its criticism of SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, accusing her of violating conflict of interest rules by trading in listed securities while serving in her role.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera alleged that Buch traded securities worth Rs 36.9 crore between 2017 and 2023, with Rs 19.54 crore of transactions occurring in the fiscal year 2018-19 alone.
Khera further accused Buch of investing in foreign funds, including Chinese investments, such as the Global X MSCI China Consumer Fund and Invesco China Technology ETF. He questioned whether Buch declared these foreign assets and whether any government agencies were informed.
