Mint Explainer: Sebi’s Madhabi Puri Buch and the fuss over her ICICI payouts

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₹16.8 crore in benefits from her ex-employer ICICI Group. ICICI Bank Ltd and Buch have denied the allegations. But Khera has intensified his charges, alleging that Buch’s post-retiral benefits from ICICI Group were higher than the salary she drew from the private lender.

While Khera has not disclosed his source, his information probably comes from Buch’s finances filed with the Income Tax department. Mint explains the post-retiral benefits Khera’s dredged up, how taxation works on such benefits, and other aspects related to the latest allegations against Buch, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Also read | Why Sebi and Indian real estate investment trusts are in Hindenburg’s crossfire Khera has alleged that Buch, who joined Sebi as a wholetime director in 2017, received over ₹12 crore from ICICI Bank between 2017-18 and 2023-24.

In that period, Buch earned an additional ₹22 lakh from ICICI Prudential and ₹2.8 crore from exercising employee stock ownership plans for 2021-22 and 2022-23, according to Khera. Tax amounting to over ₹1 crore was deducted at source on those Esops. However, no salary was directly paid by ICICI Group to Buch in that period.

The ₹16.8 crore mentioned in Khera’s allegations is classified as perquisite income, which refers to benefits received beyond a monthly salary, including income from Esops. Esops are employee benefit plans where workers gain ownership interests in a company through shares. These shares are typically granted overtime to ensure employee loyalty and retention.