Congress has alleged that Dhaval Buch earned Rs 4.78 crore from Mahindra Group at a time when the regulator was investigating it for market infractions.Responding to the allegation, Mahindra & Mahindra has stated that the “Group hired Dhaval Buch in 2019 specifically for his expertise in supply chain and sourcing, soon after he retired as Unilever’s Global Chief Procurement Officer.” It said he joined Mahindra Group almost 3 years before Madhabi Puri Buch was appointed as SEBI chairperson.”Compensation has been specifically and only for Buch’s supply chain expertise and management acumen, based on his global experience at Unilever.” Prior to becoming chairperson, she was a Whole-Time Member of SEBI from April 2017.Separately, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Pidilite Industries also stated that they had engaged the services of Dhaval Buch when his wife held second highest office at SEBI but denied allegations of any conflict. While Dr Reddy’s said it paid Rs 6.58 lakh to Buch in exchange for his services, Pidilite said that it has never been under any SEBI enquiries or orders.Last month, Hindenburg had alleged that the Buchs opened an account in 2015 with a wealth management firm in Singapore to invest undisclosed sum of money in a Mauritius-registered offshoot of a Bermuda-based fund.The Mauritian fund was run by an Adani director and its ultimate parent was the vehicle used by two Adani associates to round-trip funds and inflate stock prices.Hindenburg also alleged that she held 100 per cent interest in a Singaporean consulting firm, Agora Partners from April 2017 to March 2022 while she was a Whole-Time Member in SEBI.She passed on the shares to her husband two weeks after her appointment as the SEBI chairperson.Responding, the Buchs had called Hindenburg’s latest tirade an attack on the credibility of SEBI and attempted “character assassination”.
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