Madhabi Puri Buch won’t forget 2024 in a hurry. In an interview to a business magazine at the beginning of the year, she had proudly proclaimed that she knew exactly “where all the skeletons are hidden”. Just about six months after that statement, the world turned upside down for the first woman chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), with many questioning whether the so-called “skeletons” were actually hidden in her cupboard.
Most of the questions raised about her integrity are still mere allegations as they have not yet been proven but her position as a markets regulator who would often talk to the regulated about the virtues of governance and proper disclosure has become uncomfortable. That the high-profile Buch is feeling the pressure is evident from her relatively fewer appearances in public forums after the allegations started flying thick and fast, even though the government seems to be backing her. Not even her worst detractors would describe her as media-shy; yet, she has started avoiding direct media interactions and didn’t hold the post-board meet presser since October — a rare deviation.
Also ReadNSE, BSE to trade sideways on weekness in global market, says Religare Broking
It all started going awry from August this year when US-based short seller Hindenburg Research accused Buch and her husband of complicity with the Adani Group, pointing out that the couple used the ‘exact same funds used by Vinod Adani, brother of Gautam Adani’ to invest — which it interpreted as a key reason for SEBI’s inaction against the group. The Congress caught on to the allegations and made several of their own, many bordering on being ridiculous, but it nevertheless kept the pot boiling and continues to do so. The Buch couple has vehemently denied all the charges.
There were also allegations about conflicts of interest due to a 99% ownership in the Indian consulting firm Agora Advisory, which continued to earn revenues despite her appointment as SEBI’s whole-time director and chairperson. Again, these were denied by the Buchs, but the continuous uproar has definitely crimped Buch’s style of operation. Clearly, she is yet to win the perception game.
Her second-biggest setback was the handling of employee protests. After reports accused senior SEBI officials of misbehaviour, the markets regulator did the unthinkable — first,
» Read More
