India regulatory chief earned revenue in potential rules violation, documents show
markets regulator, Madhabi Puri Buch, continued to earn revenue from a consultancy firm during her seven-year tenure, potentially breaching rules for regulatory officials, according to public documents reviewed by Reuters.
Hindenburg Research has alleged a conflict of interest in Buch's investigations surrounding the Adani Group due to her previous investments. The allegations against the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate, made in January last year, triggered a big drop in the share prices of the flagship Adani Enterprises and other group firms which later recovered, prompting an ongoing investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Buch, in a statement on Aug. 11, denied allegations of a conflict of interest and termed them as an attempt at «character assassination».
Separately, the U.S. shortseller, in its latest report, highlighted two consultancy firms operated by Buch and her husband — Singapore-based Agora Partners and India-based Agora Advisory.
Buch joined SEBI in 2017 and was appointed to the top position in March 2022. In those seven years, Agora Advisory Pvt Ltd in which Buch has 99% shareholding, earned a revenue of 37.1 million rupees ($442,025), according to public documents from the Registrar of Companies, analysed by Reuters.
Buch's holdings potentially violate a 2008 SEBI policy that prohibits officials from holding an office of profit, receiving salary or professional fees from other professional activities.
Buch in her statement said the consultancy firms had been disclosed
