Never dealt with any file on ICICI Bank, Agora, M&M, Pidilite, Dr Reddy’s, A&M, Sembcorp, Visu Leasing: Sebi chief
Refuting recent allegations made against her, Sebi chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch said the allegations made against her were "false and misleading".
- Sep 13, 2024,
- Updated Sep 13, 2024 8:14 PM IST
Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman Madhabi Puri Buch, in her counter letter against allegations regarding irregularities, said she never dealt with files involving Agora, Mahindra Group, Sembcorp, Dr. Reddy's, or ICICI Group.
The joint letter, issued by her and her husband Dhaval Buch, clarified that there seems to be an assumption that when a spouse of a senior government official is appointed as an advisor, it must be attributed to factors beyond professional merit. Such assumptions overlook the strength of qualifications and expertise and reach conclusions that are most unfortunate.
Giving a brief about her husband, the Sebi chief said Dhaval is an engineer from IIT Delhi and has 35 years of experience, including as an Executive Director on the Board of Hindustan Unilever which he joined in 1984. He retired in 2019 from Unilever as the Global Head of Procurement where he was responsible for $40 billion per annum of procurement for Unilever across the globe. Prior to that he ran the entire Unilever Supply Chain in Asia and Africa consisting of 120 factories. He has his own strong reputation as a leading professional in his field. Post his retirement, Dhaval started working with Mahindra & Mahindra in 2019 based on his merits and experience much prior to Madhabi being appointed as Chairperson of SEBI.
She said Mahindra & Mahindra, which accounted for 94% of the entire operating income of Agora Advisory since 2019, has said: “Mahindra Group hired Mr. Dhaval Buch in 2019 specifically for his expertise in supply chain and sourcing….. He joined Mahindra Group almost 3 years before Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch was appointed as SEBI Chairperson…….None of the 5 Sebi orders or approvals referenced in the allegations are relevant. Details are: Three out of the five approvals or orders of SEBI do not pertain to the company or any of its subsidiaries. One was a fast-track rights issue, which did not require any approval from SEBI. One was an order issued in March 2018, well before Mr Dhaval Buch started working with the Mahindra Group…… We consider these allegations false and misleading.”
Pidilite, which accounted for about 4% of the operating income of Agora Advisory since 2019, said: “At Pidilite, we engage with multiple partners and consultants who are renowned professionals in their respective fields. As part of its routine requirements, the company had engaged Agora Advisory’s Dhaval Buch, a globally renowned supply chain and procurement professional, for his services in these areas……. We further state that there have never been any cases from SEBI vis a vis Pidilite.”
Dr Reddy's publicly stated: "We routinely engage external coaches to enable significant role transitions of our leaders. Mr. Dhaval Buch’s work in India and globally for Unilever was well-suited to coach the identified leader in our Company, and the remuneration paid to Mr. Buch was in line with that of other coaches……. The assignment started and ended well before Ms Madhabi Buch’s term as SEBI Chairperson. Any suggestion that the Company was treated differently by SEBI as a result of this would be baseless and malafide.”
Alvarez & Marsal, who account for 100% of the operating income of Agora Partners in Singapore, have this to say on their website: “Dhaval Buch is a Senior Advisor with Alvarez and Marsal in Singapore. He brings over 30 years of experience in supply chain and procurement….”
Madhabi said: "Despite the transparency and professional clarity given by these organizations, it is unfortunate that the need to justify decisions taken by such respected companies, based purely on Dhaval’s expertise, has to be undertaken by them and by us. The strength of his qualifications and long years of experience should be sufficient, and questions about the motivations behind the decisions taken by these companies are unfortunate and defamatory not just for Dhaval, but for these respected companies as well."
She added that recently it was alleged that Agora Advisory had offered its services to two additional companies, namely Sembcorp and Visu Leasing, during the tenure when Madhabi served as a Whole Time Member (WTM) of SEBI. It should be noted that this claim is unequivocally inaccurate.
"In keeping with the highest standards of governance, Madhabi has never dealt with any file involving Agora Advisory, Agora Partners, the Mahindra Group, Pidilite, Dr Reddy’s, Alvarez and Marsal, Sembcorp, Visu Leasing or ICICI Bank at any stage after her joining SEBI. As evident from the above facts and the communications from the companies, the allegations are completely false, malicious and defamatory," Madhabi said in the letter.
What Congress said
Earlier this week, accused Madhabi of wilful concealment, claiming that despite Madhabi's statement that an advisory company owned by her became dormant when she took office, Agora Advisory continued to provide services and generated revenue of Rs 2.95 crore between 2016 and 2024.
The party made allegations concerning Buch, who took on the role of SEBI chief in March 2022, stating that she possessed 99% ownership of Agora Advisory by March 31, 2024.
According to the party, Agora Advisory counted Sembcorp, Visu Leasing and Finance, Pidilite, Mahindra and Mahindra, Dr. Reddy's, and ICICI Bank among its clients, all of which are publicly traded companies. The Congress party claimed that the actions of Buch may have breached Section 5 of SEBI's conflict of interest regulations, highlighting that a significant portion of the Rs 2.95 crore received by Agora Advisory originated from Mahindra.
Additionally, it alleged that Dhaval Buch received Rs 4.78 crore between 2019 and 2021 from Mahindra & Mahindra, possibly violating Section 11 of SEBI's regulations.
Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman Madhabi Puri Buch, in her counter letter against allegations regarding irregularities, said she never dealt with files involving Agora, Mahindra Group, Sembcorp, Dr. Reddy's, or ICICI Group.
The joint letter, issued by her and her husband Dhaval Buch, clarified that there seems to be an assumption that when a spouse of a senior government official is appointed as an advisor, it must be attributed to factors beyond professional merit. Such assumptions overlook the strength of qualifications and expertise and reach conclusions that are most unfortunate.
Giving a brief about her husband, the Sebi chief said Dhaval is an engineer from IIT Delhi and has 35 years of experience, including as an Executive Director on the Board of Hindustan Unilever which he joined in 1984. He retired in 2019 from Unilever as the Global Head of Procurement where he was responsible for $40 billion per annum of procurement for Unilever across the globe. Prior to that he ran the entire Unilever Supply Chain in Asia and Africa consisting of 120 factories. He has his own strong reputation as a leading professional in his field. Post his retirement, Dhaval started working with Mahindra & Mahindra in 2019 based on his merits and experience much prior to Madhabi being appointed as Chairperson of SEBI.
She said Mahindra & Mahindra, which accounted for 94% of the entire operating income of Agora Advisory since 2019, has said: “Mahindra Group hired Mr. Dhaval Buch in 2019 specifically for his expertise in supply chain and sourcing….. He joined Mahindra Group almost 3 years before Ms. Madhabi Puri Buch was appointed as SEBI Chairperson…….None of the 5 Sebi orders or approvals referenced in the allegations are relevant. Details are: Three out of the five approvals or orders of SEBI do not pertain to the company or any of its subsidiaries. One was a fast-track rights issue, which did not require any approval from SEBI. One was an order issued in March 2018, well before Mr Dhaval Buch started working with the Mahindra Group…… We consider these allegations false and misleading.”
Pidilite, which accounted for about 4% of the operating income of Agora Advisory since 2019, said: “At Pidilite, we engage with multiple partners and consultants who are renowned professionals in their respective fields. As part of its routine requirements, the company had engaged Agora Advisory’s Dhaval Buch, a globally renowned supply chain and procurement professional, for his services in these areas……. We further state that there have never been any cases from SEBI vis a vis Pidilite.”
Dr Reddy's publicly stated: "We routinely engage external coaches to enable significant role transitions of our leaders. Mr. Dhaval Buch’s work in India and globally for Unilever was well-suited to coach the identified leader in our Company, and the remuneration paid to Mr. Buch was in line with that of other coaches……. The assignment started and ended well before Ms Madhabi Buch’s term as SEBI Chairperson. Any suggestion that the Company was treated differently by SEBI as a result of this would be baseless and malafide.”
Alvarez & Marsal, who account for 100% of the operating income of Agora Partners in Singapore, have this to say on their website: “Dhaval Buch is a Senior Advisor with Alvarez and Marsal in Singapore. He brings over 30 years of experience in supply chain and procurement….”
Madhabi said: "Despite the transparency and professional clarity given by these organizations, it is unfortunate that the need to justify decisions taken by such respected companies, based purely on Dhaval’s expertise, has to be undertaken by them and by us. The strength of his qualifications and long years of experience should be sufficient, and questions about the motivations behind the decisions taken by these companies are unfortunate and defamatory not just for Dhaval, but for these respected companies as well."
She added that recently it was alleged that Agora Advisory had offered its services to two additional companies, namely Sembcorp and Visu Leasing, during the tenure when Madhabi served as a Whole Time Member (WTM) of SEBI. It should be noted that this claim is unequivocally inaccurate.
"In keeping with the highest standards of governance, Madhabi has never dealt with any file involving Agora Advisory, Agora Partners, the Mahindra Group, Pidilite, Dr Reddy’s, Alvarez and Marsal, Sembcorp, Visu Leasing or ICICI Bank at any stage after her joining SEBI. As evident from the above facts and the communications from the companies, the allegations are completely false, malicious and defamatory," Madhabi said in the letter.
What Congress said
Earlier this week, accused Madhabi of wilful concealment, claiming that despite Madhabi's statement that an advisory company owned by her became dormant when she took office, Agora Advisory continued to provide services and generated revenue of Rs 2.95 crore between 2016 and 2024.
The party made allegations concerning Buch, who took on the role of SEBI chief in March 2022, stating that she possessed 99% ownership of Agora Advisory by March 31, 2024.
According to the party, Agora Advisory counted Sembcorp, Visu Leasing and Finance, Pidilite, Mahindra and Mahindra, Dr. Reddy's, and ICICI Bank among its clients, all of which are publicly traded companies. The Congress party claimed that the actions of Buch may have breached Section 5 of SEBI's conflict of interest regulations, highlighting that a significant portion of the Rs 2.95 crore received by Agora Advisory originated from Mahindra.
Additionally, it alleged that Dhaval Buch received Rs 4.78 crore between 2019 and 2021 from Mahindra & Mahindra, possibly violating Section 11 of SEBI's regulations.