Alleging a conflict of interest, the Congress on Tuesday (September 10, 2024) alleged that Dhaval Buch, husband of Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), received ₹4.78 crore between 2019 and 2021 from Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) Limited at a time when the SEBI was adjudicating cases of the same group.
The party said Agora Advisory Private Limited, a consultancy firm in which Ms. Buch had 99% stakes, also received fees from listed companies, including M&M Limited.
The Mahindra group, in a filing with stock exchanges, called the charges “false and misleading”.
“We maintain the highest standards of corporate governance,” a statement from the Mahindra and Mahindra Group said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, in a post on X, alleged that the SEBI’s institutional integrity as a robust market regulator has been “tarnished” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save his “crony friends”.
“Are SEBI orders on regulated companies now contingent on the consultancy fees its chairperson receives through a shady company,” Mr. Kharge asked.
His colleague, Jairam Ramesh, in a separate X post, asked, “Is the Prime Minister aware that Madhabi Buch owns 99% of Agora Advisory Private Limited and is receiving significant fees from listed entities, including Mahindra & Mahindra?”
Earlier, Congress leader Pawan Khera addressed a press conference in which he referred to the recent Hindenburg report that alleged Ms. Buch held 99% shares in a company called “Agora Advisory Private Limited”.
The reality
“Although, in her response, Madhabi Buch had claimed that the two consulting firms set up by her in Singapore and India — one of which is Agora Advisory Private Limited in India — became ‘immediately dormant on her appointment with SEBI’, the reality is that as of March 31, 2024, she still owns 99% stake in the Indian entity which has been actively providing advisory/consultancy services till date,” Mr. Khera alleged.
The Congress leader further alleged that in 2016-17, 2019-2020 to as late as 2023-24, Ms. Buch received a total of ₹2.95 crore through Agora Advisory Private Limited, even when she was a whole-time SEBI member and later its chairperson.
He said 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 were the exception years and the list of companies that availed consultancy service from Agora Advisory Private Limited — Mahindra and Mahindra Limited, Dr. Reddy’s, Pidilite, ICICI, Sembcorp and Visu Leasing and Finance.
“Strangely, of the total ₹2.95 crore received by Agora Advisory Private Limited, ₹2.59 crore has come from one entity alone — the Mahindra & Mahindra Group...If this was not shocking enough, the SEBI Chairperson’s husband — Mr. Dhaval Buch received ₹4.78 crore as income in a personal capacity from the Mahindra & Mahindra Group,” Mr. Khera alleged.
The Congress leader said the payments to Mr. Dhaval Buch came at a time when his wife, as a whole-time member of SEBI, was adjudicating cases of the same group.
“The year of settlements [of cases] and the year of receipt of income by Dhaval Buch serendipitously coincide,” Mr. Khera said.
In its statement, the Mahindra group stated that it hired Mr. Dhaval Buch in 2019 specifically for his expertise in supply chain and sourcing after he retired as Unilever’s Global Chief Procurement Officer.
Read: SEBI chief Madhabi Buch earned revenue in potential rules violation, documents show
“He has spent most of his time at Bristlecone, a subsidiary which is a supply chain consulting company. Mr. Buch is currently on the Board of Bristlecone. He joined Mahindra Group almost three years before Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch was appointed as SEBI chairperson,” the Mahindra group’s statement added.
Refuting the Congress allegation about obtaining favourable SEBI orders, the Mahindra group asserted that “three out of the five approvals or orders of SEBI do not pertain to the company or any of its subsidiaries”.
“One was a fast-track rights issue, which did not require any approval from the SEBI and one was an order issued in March 2018, well before Mr. Dhaval started working with the Mahindra Group,” it added.
Published - September 10, 2024 08:36 pm IST
