Following allegations from the Congress party, ICICI Bank on Monday clarified that Sebi chief Madhabi Puri Buch did not receive any salary or hasn’t been granted ESOPs after she retired from the bank.
Earlier on Monday, Congress raised the issue of conflict of interest with regards to Buch, alleging that she continued to draw a salary from ICICI Bank while she was a member of Sebi.
“ICICI Bank or its group companies have not paid any salary or any ESOPs to Sebi Chairperson Buch other than her retiral benefits. It may be noted that she had opted for superannuation with effect from October 2013,” the bank said in a filing.
The lender further said, during Buch’s employment with the ICICI Group, she received compensation in the form of salary, and other benefits in line with applicable policies.
ICICI Bank emphasised that all the payments made to Buch post her retirement had been accrued to her only during her employment phase with the group. These payments comprise ESOPs and retiral benefits.
“As per income tax rules, the difference between the price of the stock on the day of exercise and the allotment price is treated as perquisite income and is reflected in Part B of the Form16 of employees, including retired employees,” the lender said
At a press conference, the Congress alleged that since the current Sebi chairperson took office in 2017, Buch has not only been drawing a salary from the regulator but has also been holding an office of profit at the ICICI Bank, continuing to receive income from them to this very day.
The total amount received by Sebi chief from ICICI from her time of joining Sebi in 2017 up until on Monday totals Rs 16.8 crore, which is shockingly 5.09 times the income she received from the regulator during the same period, the Congress alleged in its statement.
The principal opposition’s allegations came days after Hindenburg Research questioned Buch’s obscure finances, where it alleged that she and her husband had stakes in obscure offshore funds used in the Adani money siphoning scandal.
Buch had denied these allegations levelled against them as baseless and asserted that their finances are an open book.
