In a major relief to the former Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch, disposed of complaints of alleged corruption against her, ruling that there was not “a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing” and the complaints were “solely.
“This reverse engineering of allegations explains why the complainants have been unable to demonstrate even a basic prima facie case that any favour was granted to any company. Routine SEBI decisions have been recast as part of an alleged grand conspiracy involving not only RPS but also the entire SEBI Board, its Whole Time Members, the High Powered Committee on Settlements (chaired by a retired High Court judge), the Takeover Panel (also chaired by a retired High Court judge), and dozens of SEBI officers.
To ask for a corruption probe into all of these individuals based on speculative claims of “influence”, with not a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing is plainly unjustified and solely politically motivated,” a 116 page order said.
A six-member bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar in its order held that subject matter of these complaints was identical and the main source material for these complaints was based on a report authored by Hindenburg Research of August 10, 2024.
The case pertains to 3 petitions filed by different complainants against Buch. The complaints alleged that:
1) After leaving her position atin 2013, the Buch founded Agora Advisories Private Limited (AAPL), holding 99% ownership, and also incorporated Agora Partners Pvt. Ltd. in Singapore. On June 12, 2015, she and her husband invested approximately Rs 5 crore in the Global Dynamic Opportunities Fund (GDOF), whose Chief Investment Officer was also a Director on the board of . At that time, Adani Group was under SEBI scrutiny for alleged stock price manipulation, triggered by a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence alert in January 2014.
Despite this, the RPS, after being appointed as a Whole Time Member of SEBI in March 2017, did not disclose her investment in GDOF or recuse herself from related matters. She was part of SEBI’s Investigations Department during critical probes and later became SEBI Chairperson in March 2022. In this role, she also engaged with the Supreme Court-appointed Expert Committee examining the Hindenburg report on Adani Group.
2) Another complaint against Buch was of potential conflicts of interest and alleged quid pro quo arrangements. It was accused that Buch’s husband received payments from the M&M Group under the guise of consultancy fees, which were, in reality, intended to influence the resolution of regulatory matters pending with SEBI. The consultancy services were channeled through AAPL.
3) Another complaint alleging quid pro quo against Buch was pertaining to receiving rentals from Carol Info Services, an associate of Hospitals at a time when Wockhardt was having regulatory issues before SEBI including being investigated for insider trading.
4) It was also alleged that after retiring from ICICI Bank in 2013, Buch profited significantly from ICICI ESOPs between 2017 and 2024, after becoming a whole-time SEBI member.