Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday brought SEBI chief Madhaburi Buch in the firing line once again by levelling fresh charges of conflict of interest against her, with Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi alleging a “dangerous nexus” between the Adani Group, key regulatory bodies, and the BJP.
Rahul claimed that the “rot” in India’s institutional framework has reached “alarming depths” with the rise of a “Monopoly Bachao Syndicate”, as the party alleged that Buch rented out a second property to a company associated with Mukul Bansal, who is linked to the IndiaBulls Group that was under the stock market regulator’s scanner.
Congress Media and Publicity Department chairman Pawan Khera also claimed that Buch continued to hold shares, even after becoming a whole-time member of SEBI, in Predible Health Private Limited, which received substantial investment from Jacesa Investments Ltd based out of St Vincent and The Grenadines and listed in offshore leaks by Paradise Papers.
He also claimed that Ananth Narayan Gopalkrishnan, who became a whole-time member at SEBI on 10 October 2022, also rented out his property in Mumbai to a stockbroker hired by a brokerage firm called IMC India Securities, which is regulated by SEBI, and received Rs 64.8 lakh in rent.
The party had earlier accused Buch of having links to Adani firms even after she became a whole-time member of SEBI. She was also accused of giving a clean chit to Adani Group following allegations of stock market manipulation by US-short seller Hindenburg while questions were also raised at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not taking action against her.
Congress also released a video in which Rahul talks on Adani Defence’s website, which is said to be revealing how the company profits by “merely rebranding” foreign-made weapons.
There were no immediate comments from Buch, Adani Group, Nukul Bansal and Gopalkrishnan. Buch and Adani Group had earlier denied allegations of wrongdoing.
Sharing the video on his YouTube channel, Rahul said, “The rot in India's institutional framework has reached alarming depths with the rise of a 'Monopoly Bachao Syndicate'. At the core of this syndicate is a dangerous nexus between Adani, key regulatory bodies, and the Modi-led BJP."
Rahul later posted on 'X', “Monopoly Bachao Syndicate! Monopoly in Airports. Monopoly in Ports. Monopoly in Cement. Monopoly in Power. Monopoly in Defence too. Whatever sector Adani wants, Syndicate tries to get him a monopoly.”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge posted on 'X' that Modi cannot shield the rot created in SEBI under the chairperson appointed by him.
“The continuing barrage of expose makes her position untenable. You have destroyed the sanctity of SEBI -- India's market regulator, painstakingly created over the years, thereby jeopardising the hard-earned savings of crores of small and medium investors! It also unmasks how you engineered a monopoly for your dear friend Adani! A thorough JPC is required to probe every aspect of this syndicate,” he added.
Levelling fresh allegations, Khera claimed Buch owns a flat in Mumbai and in 2021-22 she earned rental income from the property rented out to a company called Green World Buildcon and Infra Private Ltd. Congress had earlier accused Buch of renting out another property to Carol Info Services Ltd, an affiliate of Wockhardt Ltd while the latter was under SEBI investigation.
"This company Green (World Buildcon and Infra Private Ltd) is owned by Mukul and Vipul Bansal. Mukul Bansal has a significant background with Indiabulls Group, being part of its senior management and on the board of several related companies," Khera said, adding this was a violation of SEBI's Code on Conflict of Interest for Members of Board (2008).